Meet “Pop of Time”: Hottest Summer Exhibition In Dubai

by Dara Morgan

Meet “Pop of Time”: Hottest Summer Exhibition In Dubai

15 Jul 2025

Ebru Döşekçi, Mümkün

Summer in Dubai is at its peak. By now, most of us have either left the city or mastered the art of dashing from air-conditioned refuge to air-conditioned refuge (some brave souls even claim the heat is more bearable than last year). But let it not be said that the heat has dulled our cultural appetites. On the contrary, we march on — sunburnt but undeterred — in search of the coolest events in town.

Enter Pop of Time, the latest exhibition at Sevil Dolmacı Dubai, offering the city’s most glorious indoor escape since the invention of central cooling. It is colourful, clever, and conveniently temperature-controlled — everything one might want in a midsummer cultural adventure.

Hosted in the gallery’s ultra-sleek space in the heart of the Dubai Design District (d3), Pop of Time brings together a strikingly international cast of artists who speak fluent Pop with distinct accents: Turkish, Italian, German, Lebanese, and more. The show invites viewers to reconsider the visual noise of our digital world and — just for a moment — enjoy it without needing to mute the notifications.

Sabine Boehl, memories (Toledo, Sol LeWitt, Windmills of Your Mind), 2020; Sabine Boehl, memories (Isfahan-Stella- Cordoba, Windmills of Your Mind), 2024

Let's begin with the names to know:

Ebru Döşekçi, a Turkish sculptor known for creating candy-coloured forms that balance softness with structure. Her work is playful yet poignant, like if Jeff Koons had a PhD in emotional nuance.

Sabine Boehl, the German painter whose layered abstractions flirt with the energy of the urban. Think Berlin meets Basquiat, with a side of electro-pop.

Hiba Kalache, from Lebanon, blends poetic drawings with conceptual installations. Her works often explore memory, trauma, and the act of remembering in an overstimulated world — a gentle counterpoint to the show's visual loudness.

Jacopo di Cera and Matteo Mandelli, both Italian, bring photography and mixed media into the conversation. Di Cera’s work is particularly obsessed with mapping emotional geographies (he once turned the world’s passports into a socio-political map), while Mandelli’s bold use of form and repetition echoes the hypnotic rhythm of scrolling — familiar, relentless, and oddly satisfying.

Sinem Sezgin Bozkurt and Emre Namyeter, Turkish artists with sharp eyes and sharper aesthetics, contribute works that straddle digital and traditional forms. Namyeter, in particular, works at the intersection of chaos and calm, his canvases bursting with colour and energy.

Onur Hastürk brings Ottoman miniature painting into the 21st century — yes, you read that correctly — by blending classical ornamentation with modern design. If your favourite Renaissance master had Instagram, it might look like this.

And Deniz Özuygur, a visual poet of sorts, reflects on consumer culture and visual clutter with works that are as self-aware as they are self-deprecating.

Matteo Mandelli, CYBER CARPETS, 2025

Now, why exactly should one be heading at Pop of Time? Here are three excellent reasons, beyond the obvious joy of walking around in a space where you are unlikely to spontaneously combust:

1. It is bright, catchy — and surprisingly clever

This isn't your average Instagram-bait exhibition, although it will look rather well on your feed. The pop aesthetic here isn't decoration but declaration: a conscious engagement with the visual rhythms of the now. From neon palettes to pixelated textures, the works in Pop of Time reflect the very world we are scrolling, swiping, and streaming through. They are witty, saturated with meaning, and — in the best way — overstimulating.

2. It is a crash course in contemporary art, without the snobbery

If phrases like “post-structural semiotics” make your eyes glaze over, worry not. Pop of Time speaks pop culture fluently, referencing everything from internet memes to art history. It manages to be both accessible and intellectually cheeky, much like that one friend who watches reality TV and reads Roland Barthes.

Emre Namyeter, Ember, 2024; Emre Namyeter, Tidal, 2024

3. It gives you a reason — nay, a mission — to go out in the summer

Let's be honest: one must really love art to leave the house in July. But Pop of Time makes it worth your while. The gallery itself is an oasis of calm and cool, and the show is immersive enough to make you forget, briefly, that your car seats are made of molten lava. Also, there is the undeniable satisfaction of posting about a gallery visit while everyone else is posting iced coffees and “staycay” boredom.

by Dara Morgan