RARARES Gallery is pleased to announce “A Network of Raindrops” — a solo exhibition by Ruslan Gudiev (b. 1966, Kobi, Georgia).

The exhibition brings together over twenty works spanning three decades of Gudiev’s practice. It marks the first time that early minimalist paintings are shown alongside new large-scale canvases created in 2024-25 for his solo that took place in Antwerp. Together, they highlight his ongoing commitment to abstraction as a language of rhythm, surface and perception.

A central motif of the exhibition is the raindrop — fragile, momentary, yet capable of tracing connections across space. In Gudiev’s hands, the motif becomes a system of signals: marks and textures that reveal hidden structures beneath the visible.

For Gudiev, abstraction resists fixed meaning. Each work appears as a moment of suspension where presence and absence meet. The exhibition unfolds as a constellation of such moments, charting the evolution of his visual grammar across time.

Gudiev’s artistic trajectory also resonates with the post-nonconformist generation in Russia: artists who, after the collapse of the Soviet avant-garde of dissent, sought new ways to articulate individual freedom beyond ideology. His commitment to abstraction, with its refusal of overt symbols, places him in direct dialogue with that lineage — carrying forward its spirit of independence while forging a distinct, contemplative voice.

As the artist notes: “Abstract art is infinite; only the aesthetics change.”

“Gudiev’s abstraction is not detached or conceptual,” says Marina Baisel, Director of RARARES Gallery. “It is deeply human. His works don’t impose meaning — they offer a place to dwell, to feel and to remember.”

● On Display: 25th of November - 29th of January
● Venue: RARARES Gallery, Zone C, Gate Avenue, DIFC