Saif al-Kuwari, Woman, n.d., Wood, 94 x 45 x 55 cm.

The artist Saif Al-Kuwari is considered one of the pioneers of sculpture in Qatar. He is known for his distinctive figural sculptures carved out of wood. He was one of the first Qataris to attend Georgetown University in Washington DC, where he obtained a masters degree in sculpture. Al Kuwari states that his art is inextricably connected to his heritage, that an artist’s culture and past is one of the most important themes that informs their work. Many of his works function as windows to his childhood and local culture, they carry aspects of familiar forms with a dramatic depth. As a sculptor, he works primarily with wood, a connection to his feminine themes that he strives to express in his sculptures. He carves polished wood in elegant curves that suggest female figures and are spatially balanced creating a sense of rhythm and harmony. In Woman, the sculpture resembles a woman in a modest traditional dress in a seated position. The sculpture acquires a gestural expression without giving attention to details, as the artist was mainly interested in the smooth texture of the wood, the shape of which just suggests a feminine form. Rather than an exact figural representation of a woman he investigates its internal features and body, either through mass, outline, form, shape, or pose in a way that suggests and symbolizes the subject. The smooth surface suits his feminine expression, while the raw fibers and variations in the wood remind the viewer of the natural quality of the medium.