On April 18 in Dubai, the highly-anticipated 2025 edition of Art Dubai will be unveiled at Madinat Jumeirah, on view through April 20. A beloved highlight of art fairs within the Middle East and beyond, this year’s iteration offers more than 100 presentations within the captivating Contemporary, Bawwaba, Modern and Digital platforms. Drawing from pioneering art spaces in the Middle East, the African continent, as well as West and South Asia, each exhibition—and a comprehensive program—is placed in dialogue with Dubai’s vivacious art and cultural landscape.
Art Dubai Unfolds in the Center of the Middle East Region’s Art Market
Tomás Saraceno, “Nacreous 904.8,” 2024, Mylar transparent and iridescent, air compressor, acrylic plate, nylon filament, Ø 120 cm Courtesy, Studio Tomás Saraceno and Pinksummer; Courtesy of Art Dubai.
“Dubai is the center of the Middle East region’s art market and the city continues to develop at an incredible pace,” said Pablo del Val, Art Dubai’s Artistic Director. “Our 2025 galleries fully reflect these energies, the dynamism of the scene here and the rich mix of communities who call Dubai home.”
“Dubai is the center of the Middle East region’s art market and the city continues to develop at an incredible pace,”
Pablo del Val
“The line-up demonstrates the growing interest in this region’s art scene whilst staying true to Art Dubai’s DNA as a place for discoveries,” added del Val. “We are particularly pleased to share details of our curated sections: Bawwaba, Modern and Art Dubai Digital, and their expanded geographic remits. In an increasingly challenging world, these artists and galleries play such an important role in telling the stories of the migrations and exchanges that are shaping the future world around us.”
New Art Dubai Fair Leaders, Exhibitors, and Program Spotlights
Art on 56th, Viktoria Kova EYE am Space; Courtesy of Art Dubai.
Art Dubai 2025 is brimming with new evolutions, such as the appointment of Alexie Glass-Kantor as Executive Director, Curatorial of Art Dubai Group, and Dunja Gottweis appointed as Director of Art Dubai Fair. Fresh new exhibitors debuting at the vivid fair include Bortolami (New York), Cortesi Gallery (Milan/Lugano), Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art (Lisbon), Don Gallery (Shanghai), La Galerie 38 (Casablanca/Marrakech), Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo), Pedro Cera (Lisbon/Madrid), Richard Saltoun (London/Rome/New York), Galería MPA (Madrid), Galeria RGR (Mexico City), and Karpuchina Gallery (Prague).
International visitors will be thrilled to embark upon a spirited program with the second iteration of Art Dubai’s Digital Summit, titled “After the Technological Sublime,” as well as live performances and bespoke activations by Mexican creative Héctor Zamora, a riveting new digital commission by premier Emirati visionary Mohammed Kazem, and much more.
Art Dubai 2025 Gallery Highlights
Almine Rech
Farah Atassi, “Seated Bather,” 2025, Oil on canvas, 160 x 200 cm, 63 x 78 1/2 in, © Farah Atassi – Courtesy of the Artist and Almine Rech,
Photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
Distinguished gallery Almine Rech offers a diverse showcase of intergenerational masters. Farah Atassi, Javier Calleja, Ali Cherri, Mehdi Ghadyanloo, José Lerma, Tia-Thuy Nguyen, Umar Rashid, Kenny Scharf, Tsherin Sherpa, and Thu-Van Tran unveil their distinctive points of view and transformative artistry.
Leila Heller Gallery
Bahar Sabzevari, “Leyla and Majnun,” 2025, Oil on Canvas, 101.6 cm x 76.2 cm (40 x 30 in.); Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery.
Bahar Sabzevari, “Crown Series,” 2021, Oil on wood panel, 14 × 11 in | 35.6 × 27.9 cm; Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery.
Within the vivacious realm of Art Dubai Contemporary, Leila Heller Gallery unites skillful visionaries Behrang Samadzadegan, Darvish Fakhr, Sofia Yeganeh, Azza Al Qubaisi, Morteza Khazei, Naeemeh Kazemi, Maryam Lamei, Morteza Darehbaghi, Parinaz Eleish Gharagozlou, Bahar Sabzevari, and Farideh Lashai. In addition, within Art Dubai Modern, artist Bahman Mohasses delves deeply into meditative spheres of nihilism and existentialism.
Parallel Circuit
Mohammad Piryaee, “Untitled” from Piryaee’s lions series, 2024, Ceramic, 30 x 40 x 26 cm, 12 x 16 x 10 in; Courtesy of the artist and
Parallel Circuit.
Parallel Circuit breaks the mold with a solo presentation of Mohammad Piryaee within the Bawwaba platform. Red and onyx sculptures appear as if rescued from another realm with immense expression and imagination. “We are living in times of great political, social and ecological turmoil,” said curator Mirjam Varadinis. “Art has the ability to define the possible and at the same time remember common ground—both urgently needed today.”
“Art has the ability to define the possible and at the same time remember common ground,”
Mirjam Varadinis
Further, fantastical works on paper immerse viewers in sweeping monuments of aspiration and illusion.
