Translation

Exhibition Brochure

Dar Al-Ghad Gallery, January 9 - February 8, 1988

Dar Al-Ghad

Bahrain

Etching Exhibition

Artist Nasser Al-Yousif

Translation

Nasser Al-Yousif: Zinc Etching Invitation

We are honored to extend this invitation to art connoisseurs and lovers of visual arts, and to all members of the esteemed public, to visit the zinc etching exhibition by Bahraini visual artist Nasser Al-Yousif at the new exhibition hall on the ground floor of the Bahrain Car Parks Company building.

During the period from January 9, 1988 to February 8, 1988, the exhibition hall will be open daily from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, except on Fridays and official holidays. Bahrain continues to flourish with creativity and creators, so welcome.

Translation

Artist's Statement

The artistic works I present to the visual arts audience in Bahrain are the result of my modest experience in zinc etching art, which I consider a phase with special impact on my overall production.

I experimented with wood engraving in early periods, then leather engraving, until I became acquainted with zinc etching art in 1980 when I participated with a group of Bahraini artists in the Asilah Festival in Morocco. There, we all had the opportunity to meet prominent international creators in this art, alongside participating in their workshop in Asilah and learning about their technical methods and what they produced during the festival.

The most difficult challenge facing this art in Bahrain is the scarcity of necessary tools and raw materials used in production, which cannot be easily obtained except through special order, which may not always be within our means. However, the yearning for new artistic horizons and the desire to experiment with a different pattern from what prevails in the visual construction process made zinc etching both an obsession and ambition that I try to crystallize and employ so that the circle of creativity expands before me and takes on a more comprehensive field and greater effectiveness.

Producing an artistic work of this type is undoubtedly a spiritual pleasure, but conversely, it is work that requires exhausting effort in all its stages. In this experience, I have tasted another flavor of patience, trained in perseverance, and felt the value of deliberation in perfecting the work.

I hope everyone who sees these works will be pleased and that they will find their way to where more people can see them. May God grant success.

Translation

Introduction to Zinc Etching Art

Engraving is one of the oldest arts practiced and mastered by humans. Zinc etching is a technique with components that allow its practitioner multiple uses. As much as engraving is a craft and industry, it is a wide field for aesthetic research and creative brilliance, especially in our modern time when methods have developed and artistic materials have multiplied before talents. It is a tool and means available for opening new horizons of discovery and innovation.

The foundation of this art is based on the principle of utilizing the natural properties of certain metals and their reaction rates with chemical substances. At the forefront of these metals is zinc, a raw material with useful properties found in the form of carbonates, sulfides, or silicates, manufactured as sheets and foils used for several important applications, including printing called "zincograph."

The Process:

Zinc etching art has multiple execution stages that can be briefly outlined to show how an artistic plate is produced:

Stage 1: Drawing the Forms

• The artist prepares a zinc plate in the size determined for the painting
• The surface of the plate prepared for drawing is covered with a special varnish called "Etching Varnish" to form a thin, insulating, and level layer
• The artist uses a special needle to engrave lines and formations on the insulating layer, removing this layer with the needle from all designated locations, so the zinc plate surface appears exposed in some places and covered with insulating material in others until the required forms are complete and the artist is satisfied

Stage 2: Etching the Zinc

• The zinc etching process is done using chemical acids that react with zinc metal at varying rates depending on contact duration. The artist immerses the zinc piece with the formed painting in acid for a specific period. The acid affects the exposed zinc surfaces from which the artist removed the insulation, while all covered parts remain intact. When all insulating material is removed, a zinc artistic mold is produced ready for another stage.

Stage 3: Printing

• The formed zinc piece is inked with special printing ink. A porous paper of certain thickness is prepared, dampened with water, placed on the mold, and pressed with a pressing machine so the paper picks up ink from the engraved lines on the zinc plate, producing the first original print of this artistic work that you see exhibited here.

Translation

Nasser Al-Yousif

Booklet designed by: Artist Ibrahim Bousaad

The Artist

Nasser Al-Yousif

• Born in Muharraq, Bahrain in 1940
• Considered one of the founders of the visual arts movement in Bahrain
• Served as president of the Bahrain Contemporary Art Society from 1973-1976
• Participated in multiple Arab and international art exhibitions in Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Paris, Japan, and Singapore
• Held a joint exhibition with artist Ibrahim Bousaad about the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982
• Illustrated through drawings the poetry of Ali Abdullah Khalifa, Abdul Rahman Rafi, and Alawi Al-Hashimi
• Participated in the first zinc etching exhibition in Bahrain in 1982
• Received numerous awards and medals for artistic excellence, most recently the First Delmun Award in 1980
• Participated in all visual arts exhibitions held in Bahrain since 1954

Translation

Statement from Dar Al-Ghad

The visual arts movement in Bahrain takes advanced and steady steps on the path of creativity, communication, and fulfilling the role entrusted to art. Thanks to the high level of awareness among most artists, spacious fields and new horizons have opened before Bahraini visual art, through which distinguished local talents and abilities have been established.

The generous patronage that the state has bestowed upon visual artists has played an important role in nurturing talents and encouraging their production, alongside supporting the activities of specialized associations established by the artists themselves, which has helped flourish this type of artistic expression, bringing forth names of value and significance.

Artist Nasser Al-Yousif is considered one of the prominent names in the visual arts movement in the State of Bahrain. His artistic works are distinguished works with intimate relationships to aspects of folk life, with a touch full of transparency for its details.

Through his search for new materials and techniques to embody his artistic innovations, he found in zinc etching art a means with specificity suitable for the artistic phase his experience is passing through. He gave it considerable attention and delved into the technical details of this art until he mastered and excelled in it.

Dar Al-Ghad, as it opens its new branch in the Bahrain Car Parks Company building, is honored to present to the esteemed public a new collection of works by artist Nasser Al-Yousif, hoping that this modest step contributes to extending more bridges of communication between visual artists and their wide audience in Bahrain. As much as we value this step, we look forward to broader cooperation with other artists to follow with more steps... to the extent that Dar's program becomes crowded with local artistic exhibitions throughout the year.

May God grant success,

Dar Al-Ghad

Translation

About Dar Al-Ghad

• A Bahraini institution established in December 1984 in Bahrain to provide high-level services in the following fields:
• Publishing and distributing books
• Publishing and distributing artistic paintings, pictures, and creative posters
• Importing and installing picture frames
• Importing and selling antiques, statues, and sculptures
• Dar Al-Ghad: Officially licensed under Commercial Registration No. 8471
• Member of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry No. 1532
• Postal Address: P.O. Box 5050, Manama - State of Bahrain
• Telephone: 276950 - 243844

Dar Al-Ghad Gallery

Dar Al-Ghad is pleased to open a gallery specializing in displaying and selling original artistic paintings, statues and sculptures, engraving and calligraphy works, decoration and embroidery works, printed artistic paintings, posters and pictures, and everything related to fine arts used for wall decoration, in addition to making and installing picture frames of various types and sizes with highly experienced artistic hands, and the latest machines and equipment.

Translation

DAR AL-GHAD and Artist Nasser Al-Yousif wish to thank H.E. the Minister of Information, Mr. Tariq A.Rahman Al-Moayyed, for his extreme interest and support in the Opening of this Exhibition and the Fine Arts Activities in Bahrain.

Translation

شكر وتقدير

تتقدم دار الغد والفنان ناصر اليوسف ببالغ التقدير والشكر لسعادة الاستاذ طارق عبد الرحمن المؤيد وزير الاعلام الموقر لتفضله بتسهيل إقامة هذا المعرض ورعايته الكريمة للحركة التشكيلية في البحرين.

Translation

• غاليري دار الغد •

يسر دار الغد أن تفتتح صالة عرض ( غاليري ) متخصصة في عرض وبيع اللوحات الفنية الأصلية والتماثيل والمنحوتات وأعمال النقش والخط وأشغال الزخرفة والتطريز ، واللوحات الفنية المطبوعة والملصقات والصور ، وكل ما له علاقة بالفنون الجميلة ويستخدم لتزيين الجدران . إضافة إلى عمل وتركيب براويز الصور والرسوم بمختلف أنواعها وأحجامها بأيد فنية عالية الخبرة وبأحدث الآلات والمعدات .

صالتان للعرض

* صالة العرض الأولى

- الموقع : رقم الحل ٧٠ عمارة النسور رقم ( ١ ) ، شارع المعارف -

المنامة ٣٠٨

- تليفون : ٢٤٣٨٤٤

- مساحة الصالة : ٤٣ متراً مربعاً .

_ المساحة الجدارية المخصصة للعرض : ٥٣ متراً مربعاً .

* صالة العرض الثانية

- الموقع : رقم الحل ٥ - الطابق الأرضي - مبنى شركة البحرين لمواقف السيارات -

شارع الحكومة - المنامة ٣١٦

- تليفون : ٢٧٦٩٥٠

- مساحة الصالة : ٢٣ متراً مربعاً .

_ المساحة الجدارية المخصصة للعرض : ٦٦ متراً مربعاً .

* ورشة تركيب البراويز

- الموقع : محل رقم ١٤ - طريق ٩٠١ - المنامة ٣٠٩

خلف سينما الحمراء ، المنامة .