Public Art’s Founder Juanjo Novella, during the INDEX 2019 exhibition in Doha recently. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
International design companies, Public Art and Seaaquarium, which are both known for their unique design projects and pieces, are seeking to enter the growing Qatari design market.
Public Art, which is owned by Spanish national artist Juanjo Novella, has public art installations displayed across the US, as well as in other countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China, Spain, and Taiwan. With another project to be displayed soon in the UK, Novella hopes that Qatar will also be the next destination for his artworks.
“I would like to do my best to develop an amazing project in Qatar. My works are usually displayed in outdoor spaces and beside the buildings. But they can also be installed in huge lobbies as well as inside large buildings and hotels. This is my first time to exhibit here and I’m very interested to partner with Qatar to produce a public artwork,” said Novella while talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the ongoing INDEX Qatar 2019.
Novella was born in the Basque Country, an autonomous region of Spain, which is renowned for art and home to world-class museums and famous artists. He has been working in the field of public art and urban landscape for more than 30 years, and has won awards in the International Public Sculpture Competition.
His public art installations, which are usually made of steel and bronze structures, are valued between $200,000 and over $1m. Novella’s recent work ‘Tempus Fuguit’ (Time Flies), a 13-metre freestanding bell tower which was filled with the words ‘time’ in different languages, was commissioned for the New Park land development project in Dallas, USA. ‘Tempus Fuguit’ was valued at around $600,000, said Novella.
His other sculpture, called ‘Welcome to my safe home, to my sheltered haven’, which is located in the South Island of New Zealand, has won several international awards for its design that integrates history and landscape.
“Public art is very necessary nowadays in our life. In the past, the public did not realise that. But now, with growing demand for public art installations, people realise the value of artworks in public spaces. Art brings comfort and warmth. A life in the city without art is dull,” Novella added.
Seaaquarium, specialists in interior design whose handiwork includes unique luxury items crafted from ancient relics found in nature, is also showcasing its Venus collection at the three-day exhibition which closes today.
According to Seaaquarium’s CEO Volker Bassen, who is also a well-known conservationist and philanthropist, the company’s luxury Venus collection features pearls, which are one of the rarest and oldest in the world.
“Qatar has the oldest pearl history in the world. They found pearl diving settlements that reaches back 7,000 years. This was a hub for pearls. I think every Qatari has special relationship with the sea and with pearls. And I’m sure that the Qataris will enjoy seeing these pearls because they are so rare. These products are for the super rich. They are not cheap. There are more diamonds in the world than you have these clamshells. And they’re timeless, which will go down in history for generations,” said Bassen.
Bassen added that he was scheduled to meet with officials from the Qatar Museums Authority to discuss the possibility of bringing his 380,000-year-old “Pearl of Venus’, which is said to be the biggest clamshell ever found at 532 kilos, for an exhibition in Qatar.
