ALKHOBAR, 7 June 2004 — Tonight the show “Saudi Arabia: Land of Peace,” opens at Galerie L’Ame de L’Art, the private gallery of artist Turki Al-Dossary in Bandariyah Center. The opening this evening is by invitation only with the public welcome to view the show June 8-10 from 4 p.m.-10 p.m.. The gallery will honor five charities with this event focusing on art highlighting Saudi Arabia’s culture, history, art and architecture. There will be a special emphasis on jewelry design.
Al-Dossary is a native of the Eastern Province. Interested in art since childhood, he became a teacher to share his talent with others.
“Even though my formal art training has finished, I am still a student,” he said. “I continue to travel to galleries abroad and buy books and other publications to learn about the history of art and the latest trends. Artists must invest in continuous self-development.”
With his wife, Al-Dossary opened his private gallery last year in order to have better control on how his work was displayed and to highlight the art of others from time to time.
“This gallery is a permanent venue for original Arabic art that has an innovative artistic soul,” he explained. “This is not artwork that you would find in the marketplace. It is not commercial art that simply mimics the ideas and methods of others.”
When asked why he is mounting a local show at such a difficult time, Al-Dossary was straightforward in his thoughts.
“Art and society never stop even in troubled times,” he said. “The actions of a small group, not of sound mind, are not representative of society. Art is the essence of society and must continue. It is important to have beauty in life. In times like these, art facilitates you to live within beautiful thoughts. It brightens your world and helps blot out the problems for a while. So the timing for my show is good. Instead of people sitting at home alone and worrying, they can come to the show and see something beautiful. People must go on living.”
