Fresh new Arabic pop artist Corinne Martin recently revealed an exclusive painting series at DNA, a high-end lifestyle boutique in Riyadh. Born in France and raised in Lebanon, Corinne was then educated in the United States with a degree in Graphic Communications and Art History. Her work includes sculptures featured in U.S. shows such as “Proper Hygene”, “Candy From Strangers”, and “Crime Scenes”. In 2007 Corinne returned to her roots in the Middle East where she began to explore themes of Arabic popular culture through mixed media and painting.

Her paintings are characterized by bold colors using icons of Arabic popular culture that have a nostalgic twist and carry the message of “life is art.” “There is an industrial revolution happening in the middle east at the moment similar to the fifties and sixties in America. I draw my inspiration from the things that are shaping this generation of young Arabs through television, music, food, and fashion. I find everyday objects intriguing when I see them in Arabic and it’s interesting that even when they are the same objects present in the west, they have a completely different meaning to us in the Middle East. In my paintings, I aim to express this youthful energy by using the bold colors of our everyday culture in my paintings.”

Corinne Martin paintings and photography can be viewed or purchased at Cities in Centria Shopping Mall, at DNA Boutique, and are found at www.corinnemartin.com

I’ve recently attended The Bastakia Art Fair in Dubai where I saw some great work. One of my favorite pieces is this photograph by Meera Huraiz entitled Metamorphosis. The exhibition includes drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video and printmaking, by young Emirati women. These young girls have alot to say. Looking forward to seeing more work come from the UAE.

I came across this beautiful image of sand dunes today that I thought would be nice edition to the blog. Saleh Rubat is a photographer and graphic designer based out of Saudi. See more of his work here.

Here it is all finished and oh so retro.

More than 650 publishing houses including book distributors, importers, exporters and retail booksellers from around the world participated in the fair. About 317 Saudi publishing houses featured their books and materials.

This fair is not to be missed. Getting to see locals in their day-to-day environment was quite a treat.

The fair is organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, seeks to promote an exchange of information and ideas among authors, publishers and book lovers. The event, which is likely to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors including students, teachers, researchers, writers and members of the general public, will also include a wide range of cultural activities.

I love walking trough the Kingdom Tower Lobby to get to The Four Seasons Restaurant. It’s so very grand but still authentic. Businessmen exchanging ideas in between tall palm tress. The scents of flowers are breathtaking .

I’m so happy to see organic products making little appearances in Saudi.. My friends at Zoom Creative are working on rebranding the Saudi Organic Farming Association. It’s the beginning of an awareness to health and diet here in the kingdom. I was picking up Ellia’s organic snacks from Biobest and I noticed this little section of organic fruits and veggies. Bravo!

We’ve been reading this blog for years. Saudi Jeans is a blog written by Ahmed Al-Omran. The blog aims to provide news, commentary, and personal views on political and social issues in Saudi Arabia, with a special focus on freedom of expression, human rights and women’s rights. Here it is on his Today’s Links.

“…I want to be a part of the change that is going on in Saudi Arabia. I want to participate in the effort to push for more reforms, and I want to see this country become a better place.” -Ahmed

Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), inaugurated on Monday a photo exhibition of Mexican historical sites at the National Museum in Riyadh. UNESCO has designated 29 sites in Mexico as being of global historical significance, the largest number of any country in the Western Hemisphere.

Sites include the ancient city of Teotihuacán, home to one of the most massive pyramids in the world. Mexico is also home to several natural and colonial historical sites, such as the historic centers of Mexico City, Oaxaca (wa-ha-ka) and Puebla, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan and El Vizcaino Whale Sanctuary in Baja California.

Ok, so here is a painting I just finished! This is the Saudi Arabian Airlines old brand, which is near and dear to anyone who grew up in the Middle East in the eighties.. similar to the nostalgia of the Panam logo in the U.S. You can see the rest of my paintings here.