I’ve recently begun writing about regional art/fashion/culture for Style.com/Arabia. Most recent is a short preview of Lantian Xie’s first solo presentation at Grey Noise:
Take for example the fluorescent-lit wall that you see upon entering the gallery, which bathes both the foiled ceiling above and the wall opposite in a faintly green glow and is described by the artist as “the shade of the Eat and Drink restaurant walls across the city;” or the pair of framed 1950s’ lithographs of golden pheasants, also colloquially known as Chinese pheasants, which are watched over by a resplendent taxidermied peacock. They evoke the hallway of birds at the Le Méridien Hotel in Garhoud or late nights at so many similar cafeterias across the region.
Also: EL Seed at Tashkeel, the 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial among others.