Dubai Gallery CARBON 12 Turns 16
Kourosh Nouri and Nadine Knotzer in 2022. Courtesy CARBON 12.
Taking its name from the most abundant isotope of carbon, the element that forms the basis of all known life on Earth, CARBON 12 seemed destined to be omnipresent from the outset.
Established by Kourosh Nouri and Nadine Knotzer on Dubai‘s Alserkal Avenue in 2008, it is now one of the most enduring contemporary art galleries in the Middle East. Today CARBON 12 represents 14 artists and is fast approaching its 100th show.
Looking back over the past 16 years, the gallery is celebrating achievements including: Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola‘s acquisition by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; André Butzer‘s solo exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid; the publication of Philip Mueller‘s debut monograph, Palio di Vita; and Amba Sayal-Bennett‘s show at the Jameel Arts Center in Dubai.
Nouri and Knotzer said, ‘there is no [greater] joy than seeing the continuation of the idea we had 15 years ago, leading to the nomination of the Emirati artist Sarah Almehairi for Louvre’s Richard Mille award, and the first ever show of Mexican artist Edgar Orlaineta in the Middle East.’
Orlaienta’s exhibition, What We See of Things is the Things, opens at the gallery on 14 November and continues through 25 January 2025. In his sculptures, he often references modernist design and key political moments in history.
Over the years, CARBON 12 has participated widely in international fairs, including the Armory Show, Chicago Invitational, the Dallas Art Fair, Sunday Art Fair, and Vienna Contemporary, as well as local fairs, Abu Dhabi Art and Art Dubai. Most recently, they joined The Salon by NADA in Paris from 17 to 20 October 2024.
‘Being the only U.A.E. gallery in Paris, participating in The Salon by NADA’s inaugural fair is a demonstration of our commitment to our artists internationally,’ Nouri and Knotzer said.
Expanding their reach to the Big Apple, in 2022, CARBON 12 and co-founders Macaulay & Co (Vancouver) and FIERMAN (New York) established the collaborative space DIANA New York. It presents rotating exhibitions from the founding members as well as independent curators and guest galleries. —[O]
Main image: Kourosh Nouri and Nadine Knotzer in 2022. Courtesy CARBON 12.
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