Zaha Hadid, Zephyr Sofa, 2013. Designed for ZHD. Lacquered fiberglass solid body, fabric upholstery, 29 x 126 x 118 in. 73 x 320 x 300 cm.

DUBAI.- Leila Heller Gallery Dubai opened “Zaha Hadid”, a mid-career exhibition of the oeuvre of internationally renowned architect Dame Zaha Hadid. Spanning the breath of Hadid’s product designs from the early 80s - on the cusp of the architect’s emergence onto the global stage - to the 2015 Liquid Glacial Collection furniture range. 

Zaha Hadid, Moraine, 2003. Designed for Sawaya & Moroni. Pony Skin White, 29.53 x 47.24 x 133 in / 75 x 120 x 338 cm.

From the MAXXI Museum in Rome to the London Olympic Aquatics Stadium, from the Guangzhou Opera House to the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, over the last 30 years Hadid has engaged with architecture as a form of landscape painting, transforming the hard-geometry of 20th century vertical aspirations into a site specific horizontal reflection of multi-perspectival design, heralding a new era along the way. For this exhibition, the hallmarks of these large scale building projects and grand architecture reveal themselves in the architect’s use of a new spatial paradigm at all scales, and in a myriad of materials resulting in a multitude of forms of domestic reverie.  

Zaha Hadid, Z-Chair, 2011. Designed for Sawaya & Moroni. Stainless Steel, Polished, 24 x 34.65 x 36.22 in / 61 x 88 x 92 cm. 

On the occasion of this exhibition Hadid presents over 30 bodies of design work, exemplifying her transition after the 1990s from an ‘early semi-tectonic’ into her ‘later semi-liquid’ phase. The architect’s transposition of the vertical and horizontal can be seen in the angular Seoul Desk (2008), composed in high gloss fiberglass. Hadid’s ethic of deep environmental and physical interconnectedness is exemplified in the Tau vases (2015), whose intricate pleats seek to portray the formal complexity of natural growth systems. As the body of architecture transposes itself onto the architecture of the body in Hadid’s continuous exploration of scale and spatial relations, the intimate constructions of her jewellery collections present multi-faceted lattice pieces, portraying intricate yet extremely strong cellular structures within nature.  

Zaha Hadid, Kuki Chair, 2013. Designed for Sawaya & Moroni. Polished Bronze, 40.94 x 28.35 x 39.76 in / 104 x 72 x 101 cm.

Hadid’s work in design presents a 21st century evolution towards iconic folds and organic forms, as well as an exploration of scale, innovation, and materiality: from the delicately tactile to the high-gloss industrial. These signature elements in the evolution of a gesture translate into lyrical condensations in the interior, domestic, or personal space.  

Zaha Hadid, Liquid Glacial Stool, 2015. Designed for David Gill Gallery. Acrylic - Light Blue, 17.72 x 26 x 30.71 in / 45 x 66 x 78 cm. 

Born in 1950 in Iraq, Dame Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before started her architectural journey in 1972 at the progressive Architectural Association in London. She joined her former professors, Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis, at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, where she became a partner in 1977. By 1979 she had established her own practice in London – Zaha Hadid Architects – garnering a reputation across the world for her trail-blazing theoretical works including The Peak in Hong Kong (1983), the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin (1986) and the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales (1994). 

Zaha Hadid, Liquid Glacial Stool, 2015. Designed for David Gill Gallery. Acrylic - Clear, 17.7 x 26 x 30.7 in / 45 x 66 x 78 cm. 

Zaha Hadid’s work of the past 30 years was the subject of critically acclaimed exhibitions at New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2006, London’s Design Museum in 2007, the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua, Italy, in 2009, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2011 and the State Hermitage Museum in 2015.  

Zaha Hadid, Liquid Glacial Coffee Table, 2013. Designed for David Gill Gallery. Acrylic - Smoke, 15.75 x 3.43 x 98.43 in / 40 x 8.71 x 250 cm. 

In 2004 Zaha Hadid became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In 2016, she will be the first woman to be awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Zaha Hadid’s other awards include the Republic of France’s Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Japan’s Praemium Imperiale and in 2012, Zaha Hadid was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She was made Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture whilst the Royal Institute of British Architects announced Zaha Hadid as the recipient of the 2016 Royal Gold Medal. 

Zaha Hadid, Liquid Glacial Table, 2015 Designed for David Gill Gallery. Acrylic - Clear, 293.31 x 102.36 x 63 in / 745 x 260 x 160 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Tau XL Vase, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Bardiglio Nuvolato, 29.13 x 19.69 x 19.69 in / 74 x 50 x 50 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Tau L Vase, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Bianco Carrara, 18.9 x 15.75 x 15.75 in / 48 x 40 x 40 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Tau M Vase, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Bianco di Covelano Bluette, 13.4 x 15.75 x 15.75 in / 34 x 40 x 40 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Tau S Vase, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Statuario, 7.87 x 16.93 x 16.93 in / 20 x 43 x 43 cm.

Zaha Hadid, Tau XS Vase, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Bardiglio Nuvolato, 7.87 x 13.39 x 13.39 in / 20 x 34 x 34 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Quad M Table, 2015. Designed for Citco. Marble Silver Wave, 13.78 x 35.43 x 35.43 in / 35 x 90 x 90 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Quad L Table, 2015. Designed for Citco. Granite Nero Assoluto, 10.63 x 59 x 59 in / 27 x 150 x 150 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Luna Table, 2014. Designed for Citco. Marble Carrara, 30.7 x 47.2 x 126 in / 78 x 120 x 320 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Luna Table, 2014. Designed for Citco. Granite Nero Assoluto, 30.7 x 47.2 x 126 in / 78 x 120 x 320 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Ring "Skein", 2013. Designed for Caspita. 18 carat Black Gold, 2.13 in / 5.41 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Silene Cuff II, 2015. Designed for The House of Aziz & Walid Mouzannar. 18 Karat Pink Gold, 4.33 in / 11 cm.

Zaha Hadid, Manifesto Vase, 2014. Designed for Lalique. Crystal with a Satin and Polished Finish, 46 in / 116.84 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Manifesto Vase, 2014. Designed for Lalique. Crystal with a Satin and Polished Finish, 46 in / 116.84 cm.

Zaha Hadid, Visio Vase, 2014. Designed for Lalique. Crystal with a Satin and Polished Finish, 23.23 in / 59 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Visio Vase, 2014. Designed for Lalique. Crystal with a Satin and Polished Finish, 23.23 in / 59 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Chess Board Field of Towers, 2014. Designed for ZHD. Polished Resin, 84.6 x 39.4 x 106.3 in / 215 x 100 x 270 cm. 

Zaha Hadid, Small Vortexx Ring with Diamonds, 2015. Designed for ZHD. White gold with white diamonds, Finger Size 53. 

Zaha Hadid, Orchis Stools - Set of 4, 2008. Designed for ZHD. Carrara Marble. I: 32.3 x 51.2 x 51.6 in / 82 x 130 x 131 cm. II: 28.74 x 24.8 x 69 in / 73 x 63 x 175 cm. III: 23.62 x 28.74 x 51.18 in / 60 x 73 x 130 cm. IV. 24.8 x 31.5 x 58.27 in / 63 x 80 x 148 cm.