Iranian sculptures embellish Skywards cards

Three art items are selected in each color-coded brief of the contest namely Blue, Silver and Gold “to reflect the membership tier and mood of the theme to be interpreted” as the contest’s website reported.

“Waves” by Amir Vafaii, which is inspired by Turkmen carpet motifs, was chosen in the Silver brief of the contest. Sahand Hesamian’s “Eastern Sun” was also on the Silver shortlist.

The Art Dubai Director Antonia Carver, who is among the jury members, described “the repeated three-dimensional triangular motif” of the “Waves” as a reflection of “movement of the sea and the metallic texture gives it such a rich feel”.

Sabri’s work “Rain”, which features enlarged rain drops in space surrounded by a cube, has been selected in the Blue brief section.

The Green Art Gallery Dubai Director Yasmin Atassi, who was a jury member, believed that Sabri’s work “signifies the essence of Skywards in its originality and modern interpretation”.

Iraqi sculptor Nedim Kufi won in the Golden brief section with his artwork “Rumman”, which is a 3D computer generated image of scattered shining bronze designs.

The winning artworks replace the designs of renowned contemporary artists like Damien Hirst on membership cards. The artists’ names are being displayed alongside their work on the card and will be seen by Skywards’ members in over 236 countries.

The creator of the winning artwork in each brief receives a commission fee of US$5,000 and will have their name and artwork showcased to a global audience. Each winner also is invited to Dubai to display their winning entry along with selected art work they have created at Art Dubai 2011.

Photo: Kambiz Sabri’s “Rain” has won in the Blue brief section of the Emirates Airlines contest for redesigning membership cards of its frequent flyer program Skywards.