The trajectory of Lebanese-Finnish gallerist Taymour Grahne presents a compelling lens into how a brand new technology of artwork sellers is navigating a fast-changing world business—prioritizing adaptability, mobility and relationships over conventional gallery fashions. Grahne’s distinct diasporic sensibility has formed each his curatorial strategy and enterprise construction: from founding his gallery in New York in 2013, to adopting nomadic and pop-up codecs in London, to his new chapter in Dubai, he has constantly shifted codecs based mostly on circumstance somewhat than tethering himself to 1 mannequin. What he has prioritized all through this cross-border evolution is obvious—sustained, private relationships that span geographies.
“For me, the gallery may be very autobiographical,” Grahne tells Observer simply after the opening of his new area in Dubai on Alserkal Avenue. “It’s not about a spot, it’s about my relationships: the artists I work with and the shoppers I work with,” he added, explaining that whereas some gallerists may keep their unique area after relocating, he feels a duty to stay bodily current. Because the gallery carries his title, he’s by no means wished outposts scattered throughout the globe.
Grahne sees the gallery’s identification as mounted since 2013—it has merely taken totally different kinds, from thematic reveals to pop-ups to mounted areas. His artist roster, whereas it has expanded over time, continues to replicate a steadiness between the Center East and the worldwide. “My program has stayed constant irrespective of the place I’ve been. I haven’t adjusted it to suit a metropolis; it’s all the time been a hybrid,” Grahne displays, tying this strategy to his private path: born and raised in London, spending a part of his youth in New York, and returning to Beirut for center and highschool in early life that grounded his connection to the area. “That steadiness isn’t one thing I intentionally goal for—it simply displays who I’m.”
As a result of the gallery is autobiographical, it has all the time mirrored the place Grahne is in his life and the way he strikes via the world. His relocation from New York to London was pushed by a want to be nearer to Europe and the Center East. “In New York, I spent 4 years constructing sturdy relationships and leaving an imprint; in London, I spent seven years doing the identical. Now in Dubai, it’s related.” He emphasizes that the strikes have been by no means a part of a calculated technique—every metropolis merely marked a chapter outlined by relationships and impression.
Lots of the artists Grahne will present in Dubai are ones he first encountered and exhibited throughout his New York years a decade in the past, and lots of of his collectors nonetheless date again to that interval. “Being a gallerist is about your eye, your relationships, and how one can construct careers and markets for artists. That has been the fixed.” On this method, Grahne is emblematic of a technology that embraces world flexibility. “If a lease ends and the best area isn’t accessible, we don’t really feel stress to hurry into one thing everlasting. We’re fantastic being nomadic. That adaptability is vital.”
As soon as once more, the transfer to Dubai blended private roots with enterprise logic. “My household and associates are right here, and I wished to be nearer to the area,” he admits. On the similar time, it made strategic sense: he has lengthy proven artists from the Center East, participated in festivals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and cultivated relationships within the area. “Dubai at present is the gallery middle of the area—whereas Abu Dhabi and Qatar have sturdy establishments, Dubai has the gallery ecosystem,” he explains. It’s an thrilling base for the artists he represents, whether or not from the area or past. “Many are keen to interact with the Center East, to go to and construct their markets right here.”
A champion of MENA expertise
Even in New York, Grahne championed artists from the Center East, introducing Emirati voices to worldwide audiences. Amongst them was Hamad Kazim, who represented the UAE on the Venice Biennale in 2013 and, although already mid-career, had one among his first main New York solo exhibitions at Grahne’s area. He additionally labored with the late Tarek Al-Ghoussein, the celebrated Abu Dhabi–based mostly artist and professor at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Now based mostly within the area, Grahne is partaking extra intently with a youthful technology of Center Japanese artists, notably within the UAE. “There’s a lot expertise right here,” he confirms. At Abu Dhabi Artwork this November, he’ll current Rubeck Mazrui, a younger Abu Dhabi-based painter whose work explores Emirati household life, structure, the pure panorama, and the tactile rhythms of on a regular basis expertise. Mazrui will even be a part of a bunch present that Grahne is curating on younger Gulf area feminine painters. “A lot of them studied overseas and have just lately returned, and so they’re utilizing portray to discover their societies, household buildings, home areas, structure, and urbanism. A number of them are associates, too—there’s an actual community forming,” he says.
This present goals to map and doc this rising neighborhood of rising painters within the UAE. Grahne has observed a generational shift: the sooner wave of artists—figures like Hassan Sharif and people who adopted his lead—have been largely conceptual, usually working in images or set up. The youthful technology, against this, marks a robust return to portray. “Alongside photographers and conceptual artists, portray is absolutely making a comeback right here, which is thrilling to see,” he says. Frequent themes for this new cohort embrace the nation’s speedy modernization, heritage, identification and household dynamics—with many artists revisiting native customs and landscapes as a part of their inquiry.
Grahne additionally sees progress in artwork training throughout the area, pointing to promising latest graduates from NYU Abu Dhabi and a rising infrastructure of residencies, studio packages and visiting school. Whereas many younger GCC artists proceed to check in London or New York, their return has created a dynamic alternate—bringing new concepts to Western audiences whereas enriching the Gulf’s cultural scene with contemporary views. This circulation, he believes, is making the area’s artwork ecosystem extra vibrant and interconnected than ever.
A brand new technology of artists, collectors, and curators is strengthening the cultural ecosystem throughout the UAE. “There’s undoubtedly a robust neighborhood right here,” Grahne confirms. “You’ve got a younger artist neighborhood, but additionally younger collectors and curators—folks working at locations like Sharjah Artwork Basis, the Guggenheim, the Louvre and the Jameel Arts Centre. It’s a brand new technology throughout the board, and it’s energizing.”
Even whereas based mostly in London, Grahne usually relied on collectors from the Center East, the U.S. and Europe. In Dubai, nevertheless, his inaugural present—a solo exhibition by American painter Gail Spaien—has already offered out nearly fully to native collectors.
Grahne additionally challenges the stereotype that collectors within the area are solely fascinated by blue-chip names. “I’ve all the time had nice shoppers from this area who have been keen to purchase rising artists or traditionally missed names—not simply blue chip. So I knew there was all the time an urge for food right here,” he says. “Even once I was in New York and later in London, a few third of my shoppers have been from this area, and so they constantly confirmed a starvation for discovery.”
Over time, he has developed long-standing relationships with these collectors and watched their journeys unfold. “A lot of them are seasoned collectors, some from established amassing households. Others are my technology,” he notes. When he began the gallery in his early twenties, a lot of his first shoppers have been additionally of their twenties—and so they’ve grown collectively. On the similar time, he’s labored with collectors of their sixties and seventies who have been already extremely established. One frequent thread he’s noticed is that many collectors look throughout each Center Japanese and worldwide artists. “In fact, you have got collectors who focus solely on one or the opposite, however lots of crossover collectors, too,” he says, noting how this twin perspective mirrors his program, which bridges the MENA area and the worldwide artwork scene.
For Grahne, one of many area’s defining strengths is that it doesn’t want outdoors validation: “It already has such a robust native collector base, establishments, biennials, museums, nonprofits—it’s culturally wealthy by itself, and never reliant on wherever else. That’s fairly particular.”
Grahne highlights the distinct roles every metropolis performs within the UAE: Dubai serves because the market hub, Sharjah anchors the biennial and basis panorama and Abu Dhabi capabilities because the state and institutional capital. Collectively, they kind a cohesive cultural ecosystem—interconnected and inside straightforward attain. “It’s a self-sustaining ecosystem. Persons are coming as a result of there’s real curiosity—it’s grow to be a hub.” Geographically, the area sits between East and West, positioning it as a pure crossroads. “There’s a lot taking place; it doesn’t really feel short-term or like a passing section. It is a area that has risen, that’s nonetheless rising and that’s making daring, unimaginable choices. It’s changing into a real powerhouse.”
Dubai additionally advantages from a handful of established galleries—like The Third Line and Lawrie Shabibi—which have been lively for greater than a decade and helped lay the groundwork for the present scene. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t say something is lacking now—you’ve received all the things from establishments to biennials to artists to collectors. There’s been an actual, concerted effort to construct the ecosystem,” Grahne says.
What’s equally notable, he provides, is the absence of the mega-galleries that dominate cities like New York or London. Except for Perrotin’s area in Dubai, the area has largely averted the gravitational pull of world giants. He sees this as a energy: many artists have remained loyal to the galleries that supported them early on, whilst they’ve gained worldwide illustration, and that loyalty has let the ecosystem develop in a extra grounded, natural method.
Nonetheless, he ultimately observed one hole: only a few galleries within the UAE are run by folks of his technology. “That’s what felt absent. A lot of the sellers listed below are one or two generations older, and that’s one of many causes I made a decision to open,” he says. Since launching his area, he’s already seen enthusiasm from friends and youthful professionals—a lot of whom, like him, are poised to form the area’s quickly evolving artwork scene.
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