DUBAI: Spanish artist Jose Carlos Villarejo Garcia has showcased his unique Islamic art at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al-Burda festival, with a focus on the similarities between the Muslim world and Spanish culture.
The expo welcomed on Sunday guests, speakers and exhibitors from across the world to take part in the second edition of the festival.
Organized by the UAE Ministry of Culture, Al-Burda, in its second edition, will be held until Dec. 21 under the theme: “Liminal – The Spaces Between.” This theme has positioned the festival as a celebration of Islamic arts and culture.
With Saudi Arabia being this year’s Guest of Honor, GarcIa described how Islamic art in the Kingdom has helped him develop a new vision in his form of art. “I just learned a lot from the artists from Saudi Arabia,” he told Arab News.
The festival has celebrated the Kingdom’s role in supporting Islamic arts and culture and its efforts to register Arabic calligraphy on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Garcia added that his art “reminds people of all the beauty and the bonds between cultures.”
He said: “I love this technique, this form of art, because when I was studying history and different techniques of art, I discovered the Guadameci art. I fell in love from the earliest time in my career with this technique.”
Guadameci is a form of art that shows vibrant juxtapositions of colors and geometric repeating patterns on tanned sheepskin or ram leather.
Garcia’s passion in Islamic art let him combine all the bonds of Muslim culture with his own, resulting in unique masterpieces representing the faith.
He said that both the Islamic world and the Spanish city of Cordoba share similarities related to religion, which motivated him to develop his own vision in the form of art.
One piece of art can take about one year to complete, Garcia said.
Al-Burda was first established in 2018 to present Islamic creativity through artistic and cultural dialogue.
It has introduced younger generations to the diversity of Islamic art and culture, as well as ensuring its continued global prominence.
