Louvre Abu Dhabi Unveils Art Here 2025 with Shadows Theme

Louvre Abu Dhabi has opened the fifth edition of its acclaimed Art Here exhibition, in partnership with luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, featuring six contemporary artworks by seven shortlisted artists. Running until 28 December 2025, the exhibition highlights the museum’s ongoing commitment to promoting artistic innovation from the region and beyond.

Art Here 2025 focuses on the theme Shadows, inviting artists to explore the interplay of light and absence, visibility and concealment, and the nuanced dimensions of memory, identity, and transformation. This year, the exhibition welcomes contributions from artists based in the GCC, Japan, and the MENA region with a GCC connection, reflecting a growing cross-cultural dialogue.

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The exhibition features striking installations and sculptures, each reimagining shadows in unique ways. Palestinian architect and artist Ahmed Alaqra presents I remember a light, a sculpture inspired by traditional mashrabiya screens. The work uses stacked acrylic cubes containing 3D-printed shadow forms from Sharjah, transforming fleeting light into tangible art.

Emirati artist and musician Jumairy’s interactive installation Echo immerses visitors in a pond, a single flower, and ambient sound. Drawing from the myth of Echo and Narcissus, the installation uses light and shadow to create a meditative experience, emphasizing presence over reflection.

Japanese artist Ryoichi Kurokawa’s skadw is an audiovisual installation blending light, fog, and sound. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Ma, the work turns negative space into a sculptural environment, where shifting mist creates ever-changing patterns of shadow.

Hamra Abbas’ Tree Studies showcases 31 stone inlay sculptures inspired by trees from Pakistan and the UAE. Using a lapis-on-lapis technique, Abbas evokes shadow-like foliage in a grid formation beneath the museum dome, reflecting layered landscapes and natural patterns.

Another Japanese artist, Rintaro Fuse, contributes A Sundial for the Night Without End, a stainless-steel sculpture designed for a world after the sun. The work aligns gnomons with past, present, and future North Stars, offering a contemplative meditation on time and absence.

Architectural duo YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD present a pavilion called Choreography of a Cloud, Dancing Shadows. Made from swaying stainless-steel mesh inspired by traditional Kawachi weaving, the installation creates shifting patterns of light and shadow while blending Tokyo and Marrakesh design traditions.

With over 400 proposals submitted this year, the six shortlisted works highlight the vitality of contemporary art from the region while fostering international artistic exchange. The winner of the Richard Mille Art Prize 2025 will be announced in December, capping off an exhibition that challenges perceptions and invites audiences to experience shadows in entirely new ways.