JEDDAH, 30 December 2004 — The Al-Mansouria Foundation for Culture and Creativity has launched celebrated Saudi artist Dia Aziz Dia’s monographic art book. The book, which depicts his work and journey into the world of art, was unveiled in the presence of Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah at the Jeddah Hilton last night. The launching was marked by an exhibition of the artist’s paintings. It will run for two weeks.
Earlier at a press conference on Tuesday, Princess Jawaher bint Majed, chairman of Al-Mansouria, explained the importance of documenting the artwork and said “it records the history of the Saudi and Arab art.”
“Preserving fine arts is crucial because these works when documented can be accessible to a large number of connoisseurs of art,” she said.
The 300-page colorful volume features more than 200 of Dia’s paintings accompanied with text by two writers — Dr. Saeed Al-Seraihi and Nabeel Naum. The paintings relate to the artist’s life and work of 30 years.
By publishing the book and sponsoring its concomitant exhibition, the Al-Mansouria Foundation is setting forth the first of a series of publications dedicated to document the works of pioneering Saudi artists. The project aims at consolidating and dating Saudi plastic art forms that will constitute the core collection of a future national artistic resource intended to allow art to spread and grow.
Through the publication of such books, Al-Mansouria aims to contribute efficiently to the sustainability of the artwork outside of exhibition halls and museums, allowing art to become accessible to all art lovers everywhere.
“I’m very happy to be present at this event... I thank Princess Jawaher for inviting me,” Prince Faisal said, and praised the foundation’s role and work. “Artists like Dia could be a role model for everybody,” Prince Faisal said.
When first looking at Dia’s work, one can see that the artist has put social life on record from a geographical perspective of both landscape and architecture, and through the observations of costumes, events, habits and customs. “I’ve been taking my daily environment as the main subject of my representations and drawings,” Dia said.
Dia is the son of Saudi artist Asma Zaazou, who encouraged her son to go forward with his talent and pursue success in the field of art. Dia not only paints, but has interests in musical instruments like flute and violin, which he plays.
The Al-Mansouria Foundation was established in 1999 by Princess Jawaher to support creativity in the Kingdom and to build bridges of communication between Saudi artists and the general public.
