The NYUAD Art Gallery opens its doors with a landmark collection of paintings and sculptures from 1960s Iran, Turkey, and India

• The exhibition opens amid a major convergence of art events on Saadiyat Island since the pandemic-closures
• Entry is free; to book an appointment, please visit this link

Abu Dhabi : The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery reopens to the public tomorrow, Monday, November 15, with Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection. This is the first physical exhibition in the Gallery since it moved to virtual programming in Spring of 2020, and will run through to February 5, 2022.

Abby Weed Grey was a North American collector who made multiple trips to Iran, Turkey, and India in the 1960s and early 1970s, to collect modern art. The resulting collection is housed at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery.

The exhibition features iconic works by some of the best-known artists from these countries, including Parviz Tanavoli, Fahrelnissa Zeid, and M.F. Husain. Presented  alongside Grey’s letters, journals, photographs, and artefacts, the exhibition reveals an unusual collector and demonstrates how these artists drew on their specific heritages while also engaging in global discourses around key issues of modernity. In doing so, the scholars and curators who developed this exhibition have expanded  the canons of modern art, beyond the well-studied areas of North America and Europe.

Chief Curator at NYUAD and Executive Director of The NYUAD Art Gallery Maya Allison said: “We are delighted to finally re-open our doors to in-person visits, and at such an opportune time on Saadiyat Island: during Abu Dhabi Art and alongside new exhibitions at Louvre Abu Dhabi. I have been inspired by the story of Grey’s collection -- one often thinks of collecting in terms of its financial aspect, but this exhibition crystallizes, for me, the role a collector can play in the preservation and study of art, in the eventual writing of art history. Her collection has given scholars and audiences unprecedented access to a rare density of work from this period and these countries.” 

Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection is curated by Lynn Gumpert, director of the Grey Art Gallery, New York University, and is made possible in part by the generous support of Dalinc and Mehves Ariburnu; Violet Jabara Charitable Trust; WLS Spencer Foundation; A. Alfred Taubman Foundation; Avid Modjtabai; Charina Endowment Fund; Persian Heritage Foundation; Vazifdar Builders Pvt. Ltd.; Ariel and Alaleh Ostad; the Grey’s Director’s Circle, Inter/National Council, and Friends; and the Abby Weed Grey Trust. In-kind support is provided by ArtCareNYC Inc.

Exhibition Title: Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection

Exhibition Dates: November 15 - February 5, 2022

Admission: Free, appointment only

Link to tickets page: https://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/en_US/our-exhibitions/main-gallery/modernisms  

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About The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery

www.nyuad-artgallery.org 

Established in 2014, The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery is the Gulf’s first and only university gallery with a program of scholarly and experimental museum exhibitions. The program seeks to map new territories and ideas through presenting exhibitions by internationally established artists, curators, and scholars at its main space. Its auxiliary venue, the Project Space, is an exhibition laboratory for the university community, and for emerging artists and curators. Situated within NYU Abu Dhabi, the community of which hails from over 115 countries, The Art Gallery organizes free public programs and guided tours in conjunction with its groundbreaking exhibitions. It also produces scholarly publications, which are a core part of its curatorial frame and reflect its academic mission. Collectively, with the Gallery’s Reading Room, these welcoming, intimate spaces open up artistic opportunities and initiate regional and international dialogue.

About the Grey Art Gallery
The Grey Art Gallery, New York University’s fine arts museum, enables and encourages transformative encounters with works of art. Engaging with challenging issues in the study of material culture, the Grey serves as a museum-laboratory, sparking interdisciplinary scholarship. Uniquely positioned to cultivate visual literacy and critical thinking, the Grey shares NYU’s fundamental commitment as a global research university to advance knowledge of different cultures, contexts, and histories across time. The Grey also fosters experiential learning through its collections and participates in the cultural, intellectual, and environmental spheres of NYU’s Global Network, of New York City, and of the broader world. In 2025, the Grey will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

www.nyuad.nyu.edu 

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and science campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly-selective liberal arts, engineering and science curriculum with a world center for advanced research and scholarship enabling its students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from 115 nations and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.

© Press Release 2021