Prominent Argentinian art historian, critic and curator Diana Wechsler’s latest project, ‘The Art of the Kingdom’ exhibition, is currently being held in the halls of the old imperial palace in downtown Rio de Janeiro until January 20th. Featuring works by 17 prominent Saudi artists across various media, from painting and installation to video art, the project is the first group exhibition of Saudi contemporary art to be held abroad.For Wechsler, the exhibition represents the culmination of a deep, ongoing engagement with the Saudi contemporary art scene that began in 2019. As the artistic director of BIENALSUR, the biennial for contemporary art from the Global South, Wechsler curated the participation of several Saudi artists. From that experience, she recognised the unique potential of Saudi artists to create works that are both strikingly original and serve as a lens through which to explore the complexities of the Kingdom.In preparing for ‘The Art of the Kingdom’, Wechsler made multiple trips to Saudi Arabia, where she attended workshops, met with artists, and closely followed the development of local art spaces. This immersive process led her to the exhibition’s theme, ‘Poetic Illuminations’. “The idea that each work has the power to illuminate a facet of Saudi culture,” Wechsler tells SceneNowSaudi. “I wanted to create an exhibition that unfolds like a revelation, gradually revealing different aspects of this fascinating culture where the past and present, tradition and change, constantly intertwine.”A recurring motif in the works of many Saudi artists, Wechsler noticed, was the desert - a subject that has been explored in a variety of ways. "The works of artists like Sarah Abu Abdallah, Ahmed Mater and Ahad Alamoudi all reflect an engagement with the desert, yet each piece reveals a different facet of it, whether exploring its identity, its geological memory, or the traces of past and present cultures it holds."Aware that for many visitors this would be their first nuanced introduction to Saudi Arabia, Wechsler was determined that the exhibition challenge common stereotypes. "An exhibition should expand horizons, challenge conventional thinking, and provide an experience that fosters discovery and deeper understanding," Wechsler says.To this end, Wechsler made the curatorial decision to open and close the exhibition with a neon light installation titled ‘Arabi/Gharbi’ (Arab/Foreigner) by contemporary Saudi calligrapher Nasser Al-Salem. "The piece creates a boundary between the contemporary Saudi world and the broader cultural horizon of the public," she explains. "By revisiting the glittering neon installation at the exhibition's conclusion, I hope visitors will see it differently, having experienced a broader, more nuanced understanding of the Kingdom."After its debut in Rio that was timed to coincide with the G20 summit, the exhibition will travel to Riyadh in early 2025, where the exhibition will be displayed at the Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art in JAX District, before concluding at the National Museum of China in Beijing at the end of the year.