08/06/2026
Mohammed Kazem’s ‘Scenes from the 90s’ are now on view in our Artist Room.
The three ‘Landscape’ (1999) works painted in Hatha included in this presentation reflect Kazem’s early engagement with observation and atmosphere. Yet, as Hassan Sharif later noted, “The meaning or purpose of his paintings lies in the life of the colours and the ways they can be put to use, not in the painted objects themselves.” Rather than depicting a landscape as a fixed image, Kazem explored the sensory and emotional qualities of colour, light, and rhythm, seeking to translate experience rather than representation.
During the winter months, Hatta could transform dramatically after periods of rain. Seasonal rainfall would briefly soften the rugged mountain landscape, bringing patches of greenery across the valleys and riverbeds. Wild grasses, shrubs, and small flowering plants would emerge between rocks and along the wadis, creating a sharp contrast with the otherwise dry and earthy terrain. The mountains themselves often shifted in colour depending on the weather and time of day, moving between deep browns, muted purples, greys, and greenish tones after rainfall.
-
Mohammed Kazem, ‘Landscape 1, 2, 3’ (1999), acrylic on paper
