Arab Cultural Club opens exhibition by artist Abdulrahim Salem

The exhibition featured over 20 large-scale paintings, presenting a continuous artistic experience across the works. Through colour and form, the exhibition reflects a unified intellectual and emotional atmosphere, explored in a style blending artistic expressionism with colour experimentation. 

Dr Najat Makki expressed her delight at the exhibition of her former classmate Abdulrahim Salem, whom she considers a pillar of Emirati art, one of the fastest artists in executing murals with precision, and among the most experienced in mastering colour.

The exhibition also provided an opportunity for Dr Omar Abdulaziz to reflect on Salem’s artistic journey, saying: “From his earliest beginnings, Abdulrahim Salem was grounded in expressive realism, marked by the strength of line and the harmony of colour. I recall seeing his works completed two decades ago; what struck me then was the spontaneity and freedom in his execution. Salem was forging his own path, attempting to reconcile figurative and abstract elements, a challenging reconciliation between two artistic levels, which he largely succeeded in achieving. He views abstraction as embodiment and embodiment as abstraction, without imposing mechanical boundaries between the two.”

Dr Omar Abdulaziz added: “Abdulrahim Salem comes from an academic foundation, graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Sculpture in Cairo, which he complemented with realistic experiences and impressionistic visions, culminating in his unique expressive style.”

He concluded: “This approach is evident in his coloured works as well, where horizontal expanses allow the paintings to engage dynamically with the surrounding environment. I consider these wide spaces a central choice in Abdulrahim’s work.”