Kourosh Nouri and Nadine Knotzer
Carbon 12
Nadine Knotzer and Kourosh Nouri may have been the first in the region to set up a dedicated international programme, but that doesn’t mean they are unapproachable. As they work at their desks, Hello Kitty on copper primed canvas sprayed with acid by Berlin artist Michael Sailstorfer, gazes down like some sort of business place deity. “We live in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and it should have international galleries,” says Nouri. “Today, if an artist doesn’t have international representation, he becomes a victim of his region and isn’t placed in the same pool as established artists. A [gallery’s] programme shouldn’t have a nationality.” Most of the artists that Carbon 12 represents live seas away from the raw Alserkal Avenue warehouse. The duo is on a mission to introduce these names to this part of the world, and have also been among the first pioneers to bring performance art to the region. “If you put on performance art in Paris, 80 per cent of the guests will be French, but in Dubai we’ll have 180 nationalities represented and you can see the surprise register on their faces,” says Knotzer. Everyone’s still talking about the time Anahita Razmi provocatively commanded audience members to cut scraps of a Gucci dress off her body, a shock to the system for the couture-obsessed city. This year Carbon 12’s booth at Art Dubai will include a never before seen flag by Sara Rahbar, who uses nationalist symbols and a collage of textiles to explore notions of belonging. carbon12dubai.com
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Open skies / March 2014
We live in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the World, and it should have international galleries