About Artist
Dena Matter was born in Gaza in 1985 and graduated from Al-Aqsa University with a BA in fine art and education. Her paintings have been included in exhibitions in Switzerland, France, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Gaza. Her works were previously exhibited in Occupied Space 2008, the opening exhibition at The Mosaic Rooms (London, UK, 2008). She is a member of the Eltiqa artists collective in Gaza City.
Despite her young age, she has participated in a large number of exhibitions and acted as a mentor to youth. Matter collaborated on several projects with European artists and participated in several local exhibitions and workshops in Gaza in cooperation with the A.M. Qattan Foundation, the French Cultural Centre, and other institutions. Her work was also displayed at the international exhibition Ghaza Seasons (Geneva, Switzerland). In 2012, she was selected to be an artist-in-residence at Cite internationale des arts in Paris.
Matter, who has lived with the profound challenges of Gaza, has the creativity to see beyond the walls and paint with such vibrant colors and a wild imagination that her work is reminiscent of Joan Miró’s and yet distinctly her own creation. Matter and many other artists living in Gaza are determined to produce fine art and to present it to the Gazan community. She has developed her own unique childlike style, which she considers to be a way to manipulate the sad surroundings of her reality and to represent it from a perspective that is full of hope and optimism rather than encumbered by dark and lifeless colors. Matter explains that through her art, she tries to rekindle positive feelings—her own as well as those of the people around her and those that view her art.
Matter is strongly influenced by Pablo Picasso’s Cubist style in the way she deals with the structures and lines within a space. Yet she manages to assert her originality by using extremely bright colors and her characteristic simple approach.
Conditions
The following conditions of sale describe the relationship between the Institute for Palestine Studies-USA and the buyers, prospective buyers, and bidders for the Keyword: Palestine II Art Exhibition and Auction which will begin on March 2nd, 2020, and end on December 31st, 2020. By using this website to buy, bid, or inquire about any artwork, you agree to be bound by these conditions.
When you place a bid on any artwork, you are accepting personal liability for the purchase price, any applicable taxes, any and all shipping and packing costs, and all other applicable charges. Any artwork bought by residents of the District of Columbia will be subjected to a 6% sales tax on the market value of the artwork. All U.S. resident buyers can claim tax deductions on amounts that exceed the market value of the artwork. Market value of artwork is their starting value.
Bid winners can pick up the artwork they bought from the Institute for Palestine Studies-USA or have the Institute arrange for shipment, however, reiterating, that the buyer is responsible for all packing and shipment costs.
There will be ten (10) bidding cycles. Each cycle will close on the last day of the month at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (USA) at which time the highest bidder for the art will be notified of their winning bid.
Please note that all bids are final once submitted and may not be cancelled or modified by you, except with our express written consent under circumstances that we consider appropriate at our sole discretion. Please also note that all sales are final.