Taymour Grahne Projects, a new space in Alserkal Avenue, is looking to bring more international perspective to Dubai’s arts scene, prioritising artists who have yet to exhibit here.
It is a vision clearly reflected in the gallery’s inaugural show.
Arranging Flowers marks Gail Spaien’s first presentation in the Middle East. The American artist is renowned for her paintings, which present domestic scenes that teeter between the familiar and the uncanny. Her solo exhibition at Taymour Grahne Projects presents a series of such works. Tables, flowerpots and windows with idyllic scenes are flattened, giving a disorienting yet delightful feel to everyday objects.
Spaien’s works are influenced by ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement. Flowers are present even in works where the interior is only barely visible, such as Waypoints, which centres on a sprawling seascape and shows the edges of a stone balcony, decorated with blossoming potted trees. It is a subtle contrast between curated, domestic environments and the grandeur of the natural world, made cohesive through Spaien’s idiosyncratic flatness.
With many neighbouring galleries in Alserkal Avenue rightly focused on showcasing artists from the Global South, beginning with an artist from Maine is a deliberate move to present a different perspective, says Taymour Grahne, founder of the gallery.
“I wanted to come in with an artist who hasn’t ever shown in the region,” he says. “That’s a central ethos of mine, that discovery.”
Grahne founded his eponymous gallery in New York in 2013. The gallery rebranded as Taymour Grahne Projects when it opened in London in 2017, to “better reflect our non-traditional nature”, Grahne says.
“When I had a gallery in New York, we represented artists. We did a lot of fairs and it was a lot more traditional,” he adds. “When I moved to London, I started operating more nomadically. Everything I do now is on a project basis with an artist. We work on exhibitions and group shows. I don't officially represent artists, but I have long-term collaborations with them.”
With the project’s new headquarters in Dubai, Grahne is broadening his collaborations and exploring ways on how to engage with artists, moving away from traditional gallery models. He still avoids formally representing artists, preferring instead to collaborate with them through individual exhibitions or other initiatives. But he has seemingly stepped away from the nomadic approach he adopted in London, opting instead for a more permanent space.
“When you represent artists, you show the same eight to 10 artists every two years,” he says. “You pigeonhole yourself. Also for your audience, if they see the same artist every two years, it's a bit boring. When I moved to Dubai, I knew I needed to come in with a fixed space. I want to host a lot, invite people in. It’s good to have a permanent presence here and I didn’t want to do it nomadically.”
Grahne’s curatorial choices are driven by intuition, he says. He gravitates towards artists whose works immediately spark something in him, seeing that initial response as a sign of genuine connection.
“I think intuitive is the key word,” he says. “The work has to appeal to me on a visual level. Behind that, there has to be research concept, depth, newness. Artists exploring things in different ways, in autobiographical ways. I’m drawn to works dealing with nature, landscape, and themes around migration, place and the idea of home.”
Grahne also favours artists who are emerging, midcareer or “older and underrepresented”.
As such, Spaien was an obvious choice for the space’s first show. It was also a way, Grahne says, to reflect on “the global nature of Dubai”, while also coaxing an appeal that may have not been immediately visible.
“It's an international city, and I can show an American artist from Maine and sell her work really well in the region,” Grahne says. “I want to work with artists from the UAE or from Lebanon, for instance. But for the first show, it was a decision to showcase the cosmopolitanism of Dubai. We can be here and show artists from everywhere.”
While Spaien’s works, particularly in the seascapes she depicts, are inspired by the coastal views of New England, her work has proven to resonate with audiences in the UAE, Grahne says.
“The concept of home, the domestic space, the abode, this kind of privacy of the home, all of these are common themes that resonate well here,” Grahne says. “Gail has also taken a lot of inspiration from interior design and carpets, fabrics and textiles, also something that is found in a lot of homes in the region. A lot of her inspiration is drawn from miniatures. For the birds in her paintings, for example. So they're very much New England, but they're also within these global concepts.”
Taymour Grahne Projects will be participating at Abu Dhabi Art. While it won’t be the initiative’s first presentation at the fair, it will be a special one as it follows the opening of its permanent local space.
“We're coming in with a big booth to mark our entry to the region,” Grahne says. He adds that while the inaugural show meant to signal the space’s commitment to quality, irrespective of geography, the booth at Abu Dhabi Art will focus on regional artists and practices.
This two-pronged approach is meant to reflect the gallery’s broader vision – balancing regional engagement with international reach.
“We’ll be focusing on artists from Mena and the diasporas,” Grahne says. “Regional artists have always been a key part of my programme.”
Looking ahead, Grahne says he is not concerned with expanding the projects space in terms of real estate, but through programming.
“I want to do a lot of events, talk programmes and book signings,” he says. “I want to get in new, young collectors as well as bring in corporate collections, and grow in that way.
“And I want to continue to have incredible exhibitions. I also have an art advisory wing where we build collections in the region. But for this space, I just want to get known for discovery.”
