Naima Morelli

Asia–Pacific (APAC), Rome

Freelance Arts Writer specialized in contemporary art from SEA & MENA regions - bylines @artasiapacific @middleestmnt @middleeasteye - [email protected]

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Articles

About to Erupt: A Snapshot of Contemporary Art in Istanbul

3 weeks ago | themarkaz.org | Naima Morelli

To take a snapshot of the magmatic undercurrent in Istanbul’s art scene, Naima Morelli examines the city’s subterranean energies through a gallery show, an art fair, and a museum retrospective. Naima MorelliA subtle tension, something that is underground and about to erupt, filled the bright rooms of the art space Galerist, overlooking the Bosphorus.
Bridging Continents: Launching the VIMA Art Fair in Cyprus

4 weeks ago | timesca.com | Naima Morelli

In the art world, fairs often have a meteoric rise and fall in an oversaturated market of competing events. But every so often, one lands with a quiet, deliberate weight, embedding itself in the soil of its context and revitalizing it. VIMA Art Fair in Limassol, Cyprus, is one such project. Unfolding in a transformed wine warehouse near the sea, VIMA resisted the sterile polish of typical fair venues.
Bas Smets: the landscape as a living organism

1 month ago | ifdm.design | Naima Morelli

One of todays great challenges is reconciling the sustainability of our cities in the face of climate change with the preservation of monuments and community access. In this regard, Belgian architect Bas Smets is among those redefining what is possible An internationally renowned landscape architect, Bas Smets views the landscape as an extension of nature. For Smets, plants are not mere decorative elements but active agents in creating a self-sustaining microclimate.
VIMA Art Fair and the Quiet Politics of a Nascent Regional Scene

1 month ago | observer.com | Naima Morelli

VIMA taps into Cyprus as a place of confluence of identities and a multicultural node, but the fair’s founders are cautious about overtly calling it political. Photo: Daria MakurinaThe days of the art world having a ‘slow season’ are over. And amid a never-ending parade of fairs, gallery weekends, openings and festivals—three planes in one week, artworks melting into one another, fatigue setting in—enthusiasts and professionals alike can find themselves unmoored.
Bagus Pandega and Kei Imazu’s Artificial Green by Nature Green 4.0

1 month ago | artforum.com | Naima Morelli

DURING THE FOUR-MONTH RUN of the 2024 Bangkok Art Biennale, Bagus Pandega and Kei Imazu’s 2024 installation Artificial Green by Nature Green 4.0 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre cyclically generated and erased images of a lush Indonesian rainforest, like Penelope repeatedly weaving and unraveling her shroud.
Altynai Osmo's New Show in New York: Restoring Female Narratives

2 months ago | timesca.com | Naima Morelli

In the heart of Tribeca in New York, the Sapar Contemporary Art Gallery has launched a new , Beneath the Earth and Above the Clouds, which brings Central Asian narratives to the forefront. This dual show - which runs until May 15, 2025 - features Altynai Osmo and Aya Shalkar, two artists who have been devoted to exploring female narratives in the region, and do this through works that are both steeped into tradition, and modern and vibrant at the same time.
Gaza’s rescued treasures shine at Paris Arab World Institute

2 months ago | newarab.com | Naima Morelli

“Gaza has long been denied a sense of history,” says Elodie Bouffard, curator of the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris. “History can be accepted everywhere, but this area is completely swept away, anhistorical.” It is undeniable that any time we think about Gaza after October 2023, it’s hard to think about anything else other than the devastating human loss that has been unfolding in real time. Contemporary havoc leaves little space for historical pondering.
Gaza’s rescued treasures shine at Paris’s Arab World Institute

2 months ago | newarab.com | Naima Morelli

“Gaza has long been denied a sense of history,” says Elodie Bouffard, curator of the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris. “History can be accepted everywhere, but this area is completely swept away, anhistorical.” It is undeniable that any time we think about Gaza after October 2023, it’s hard to think about anything else other than the devastating human loss that has been unfolding in real time. Contemporary havoc leaves little space for historical pondering.
Future Nostalgia: Alexander Ugay's Parisian Debut at NIKA Projects

2 months ago | timesca.com | Naima Morelli

Have you ever had that feeling of "Future Nostalgia" - as Dua Lipa would put it - when looking at old sci-fi movies that were imagining a future that never came to pass? The fact that this future didn't materialise might be as might be seen as both a blessing and a disappointment, as artist Alexander Ugay has us reflecting upon with his Parisian debut.
Uzbekistan at the 2025 Venice Biennale: Ekaterina Golovatyuk on the Modernist Legacy of a Soviet-Era Solar Furnace

Mar 25, 2025 | timesca.com | Naima Morelli

Is it possible to preserve architectural heritage while working towards sustainability? And what to make of the architectural relics of the past century? Can they somehow take on new meaning rather than remaining a representation of dystopias and utopias of the past? All these questions and more are addressed by the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.