HE Sheikha Mayassa Inaugurates Museum of 'Crying Women'

Doha, October 06 (QNA) - HE Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) Board of Trustees, inaugurated this evening the Museum of 'Crying Women' for the Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli at QMA Gallery in Katara, in the presence of HE Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed Al Thani, Vice Chairman of QMA Board of Trustees, and a number officials, artists and art lovers. For his first exhibition in the Middle East, Vezzoli brings together his most striking portraits of iconic female figures of the last century, including Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor and Lady Gaga, in a celebration of femininity. Dorned with Vezzolis signature of an embroidered glittering tear, the show, which will be on view from October 7 till November 30 2013, displays portraits, embroideries and needleworks of Hollywood legends, first ladies, fashion icons and pop culture celebrities intended to reflect the drama of the female divided identities, and show the anguish between living a public and private life. In a space reminiscent of the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace de Versailles, the exhibition includes a new series of artworks inspired by Oum Kulthom, one of the most admired female Arab singers, as well as four videos starring the likes of Bianca Jagger and Lauren Bacall, and a bronze sculpture of Sophia Loren. The exhibition has been created in partnership with Hans-Ulrich Obrist (co-director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London) Rem Koolhaas (founder of architecture firm OMA), and the artist. (QNA)