Ica Wahbeh , The Jordan Times

Artist Samer Tabbaa’s world is unique. It is his own, with works in a style that may be carrying over from previous periods, but that are also novel, ingenious and captivating.

His “Sculptures, reliefs and drawings” at Nabad Art Gallery come after quite a long hiatus. The artist exhibited as recently as this year (in a two-person show) in Dubai, but in Amman it has been some time, and this is a pleasant comeback.

Tabbaa’s simple, minimalist lines create an aesthetic suggestive of Japanese art/interiors: uncluttered, serene, inviting to meditation.

The materials he uses are, naturally, traditional — with the exception, perhaps, of Plexiglas to create reliefs. Less conventional is the way he uses the wood, metal, paper, Plexiglas, pigment bitumen and graphite to create original works of art: in a dichotomy of materials and ideas that brings together metal and feather, intensely coloured backgrounds and barely-there strokes of pigment, straight lines and curvy carvings.

The works are abstract, and pared down to a minimum: no crowded imagery that bombards the retina, no shrieking colour combinations. They are quiet, almost Zen, soothing the senses, calming, cathartic.

The drawings, like the rest of his works, are mostly in sobre shades of black, charcoal, silvery grey — tones that complement the metal used in some sculptures, chosen carefully not to disturb the whole.

Square panels, individual or grouped together to form bigger squares, are quiet and “disciplined”, perfectly in tone with the lines of the sculptures.

The “carved” Plexiglas panes painted over with gold, silver and blue are striking and original. In one case, they are placed in an interesting juxtaposition suggestive of elemental factors: air, sun, sea.

A steel and goose down sculpture is arresting. Bringing together the tough, dark metal and the soft, white feathers, it is a modern yin-yang creation of sorts, a rendition of the dual, opposite and complementary principles that exist in all things and that make the world what it is.

Tabbaa’s sculptures capture the eye and imagination. Of pure line and colour, they reveal inspiration from nature, but also from Far East aesthetics.

The wood is mostly left in its natural shades. When painted over, it is to dramatise the effect and create the duality that seems to permeate the present collection.

By alternating colours, materials and patterns, the artist highlights this twofold reality, creating a symmetry of sorts that pleases the eye and calms the soul.

A stunning blue and black relief brings to mind the vast blue sea with boats bobbing on waves and fish frolicking; it is simple yet complex, a wonderful work of art.

In an uncharacteristic outburst of colour, an encaustic on wood image in cherry red and different nuances of blue brings to mind a starry night in an oriental setting, a closer-to-home tale of Scheherezade, of jinnis and lanterns.

The few geometric patterns on a series of oil pastels match the etching and China ink on paper and the carved Plexiglas square — all in one room — in an undoubtedly deliberate mirroring of imagery that is dizzyingly beautiful.

Totemic freestanding sculptures, present in Tabbaa’s earlier works, play on the same concept of contrasting shapes and colours. They evoke primordial art, the first attempts of mankind to express itself: an endeavour it never relinquished and which this artist has refined to perfection.

Tabbaa, with an artistic career of over 35 years, has an MFA in sculpture from Kent State University, Ohio. His works are in public collections, like the Deutsche Bank, in Geneva, and Brown University, Rhode Island, or were acquired by private collectors in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Dubai and France.

The works now on display can be seen until July 4.