For British-Iraqi architect Heitham Adjina, art and architecture go together. “I cannot divorce one from the other”, he says. So although he’s best known for his innovative architecture (Ajdina worked closely with British architect Norman Foster and late iconic architect Zaha Hadid), throughout his 30-year career, he also created a myriad of lesser-known paintings. Until the 12th May, Alserkal’s Showcase Gallery is presenting Adjina’s first solo exhibition, showing more than 30 works on canvas from various intervals of the artist’s fruitful career.
Adjina remembers feeling first interested in painting when he was just eight-year-old, at school. Very early, he was offered a room in his home to use as a studio. This is probably why his signature is instantly so recognizable, synonymous with bright colours and geometric shapes. Obviously fascinated by forms and ingeniously combining abstract motifs and human figures, Adjina’s work abstractly explores the relationship between the structures of our world and human consciousness.
“These works are about life; there’s always an emotion within these structural forms”, he says discussing how he’s fascinated by how humans interact with their environment. Aptly titled Architecture of Being, Adjina hopes his exhibition will let people immerse in their own emotions and find beauty in existence.
Heitham Adjina: Architecture of Being, until 12th May at Showcase Gallery, Dubai
