LONDON: Christie’s decision to hold its autumn sale of Middle Eastern Modern and Contemporary Art in London for the first time was greeted with an enthusiastic reception by art lovers who competed to buy the most coveted pieces in the auction held on Oct. 25. The traditional March sale week will continue to take place in Dubai and will occur during the Dubai Art Season.
Registered bidders from 23 countries confirmed the international appetite for works from the region. The sale was led by a world auction record for the Iraqi artist Jewad Selim, whose painting “The Watermelon Seller” sold for $876,73, more than double its high estimate of $328,150.
Another highlight was Mahmoud Sabri’s “Grief,” which sold for $876,731, more than ten times its high estimate of $78,756 and a new world auction record for the artist.
The Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al-Rais donated two paintings, “The Dream” ($81,938) and “Untitled” ($81,938) with proceeds from the sale benefitting the Emirates Red Crescent Authority.
Arab News spoke to Michael Jeha, deputy chairman and managing director for Christie’s in the Middle East, who explained that demand for Middle Eastern art is increasing globally.
“We are seeing more and more collectors and institutions from around the world participating in Middle Eastern art sales. It’s moving up and the market is becoming more mature. Established collectors from the Middle East particularly are now extremely knowledgeable about the art; they ask a lot more questions and are all focusing on a narrower group of artists than five years ago.
“In Saudi Arabia, and Jeddah in particular, you can sense there is an increasing appetite for art – there are more galleries opening up and you have the 2139 initiatives – more and more patrons and foundations being set up,” he said.
The sale comprised approximately 60 works, mostly consigned by private collectors and led by and important group of works by Egyptian artists, highlighted by their recognized master Mahmoud Said (1897-1964).
Mahmoud Said’s portrait “Hanem” sold for $420,503 alongside his second version of “La Fille aux Yeux Verts,” which was sold for $229,425.
It was fascinating to listen to Christie’s experts talking about the paintings.
Hala Khayat, head of Sale for Middle Eastern Art, Christie’s, based in Dubai, told an intriguing story about a controversy that arose over Mahmoud Said’s “La Fille aux Yeux Verts.” When Christie’s first put this painting up for auction several years ago, the sale was stopped because it was thought to be a stolen work. As it happens, all was above board.
The recently published catalogue raisonné of Mahmoud Saod, co-written by Valerie Hess from Christie’s, revealed that he painted two versions of the piece. One was painted in 1931 and is still part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Cairo. He painted another version in 1932, “La Fille aux Yeux Verts (réplique),” originally in the collection of Charles Terrasse, the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in Cairo. That version was put up for sale by Christie’s.
Khayat explained that Said was from an upper class aristocratic family. His father was the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was a lawyer by profession but his real passion was art.
“His mind and soul were in painting and exploring the Egyptian identity. We refer to him as the father of all modernists in the Arab world because, very early on, he started to look at the people of the land and to paint them with their traditional look. The painting “Hanem” depicts a woman sitting in her house wearing her turban. This representation was something new as prior to this you wouldn’t have seen women depicted in this way — they would have been shown wearing their jewelry sitting in a Western style,” she said.
Two striking works in the sale were by the Syrian artist Safwan Dahoul who had to leave his country due to the war and is now based in Dubai. Khayat, when asked if the woman in the painting “Reve” was the artist’s late wife, who died of cancer, said Dahoul has said that he does not consciously set out to paint her image but that she always comes to his mind.
Khayat, who is Syrian, was taught by Dahoul
“I grew up in Damascus and he was one of my teachers at university,” she explained.
Khayat gave some insights into the artist Jewad Selim whose “Watermelon Seller” proved to be a highlight of the sale, selling for double its estimate.
“Jewad Selim died very young in his 40s. He was one of the first artists who on returning to Iraq after studying in Italy and London tried to come up with an Iraqi identity. He looked to the colors of Mesopotamia and used simple forms. He was one of the first artists to exhibit in the US. His work is extremely rare; in my eleven years with Christie’s we have managed to sell just one small painting and one small sculpture,” she said.
Painted in 1953, the painting combines Selim’s inspiration from his Eastern tradition and Western influences obtained when studying in Paris, London and Rome. The watermelon represents modern Iraq, the land of the two rivers, with its intersection of the Tigris and Euphrates and hints to the novelty of modern Iraq. The composition is rendered in shapes and the crescent shape is taking a leading role in representing the watermelon slices, an association to the fertile crescent of the Middle Eastern region, which is historically considered as the cradle of civilization.
The Middle Eastern art was exhibited alongside the works sold at the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds’ auction on Oct. 26.
Khayat commented: “I love the juxtaposition with the Islamic and Indian Art week — it is like a dialogue.”
She noted how, for example, the work of contemporary artist Reza Derakhshani echoed the traditions embodied in the fine paintings in the adjoining rooms.
Sara Plumbly, head of the department of Islamic and Indian Art, gave Arab News a tour of some of artworks in the sale.
She encouraged us to look closely at a portrait of Safdar Khan, attributed to Bichitr, Mughal, India, circa 1635-40, in order to fully appreciate the exquisite detail and coloring.
Some beautiful carpets were featured in the sale too. Christie’s Oriental Rugs and Carpets expert, Louise Broadhurst, was on hand to explain some of the distinctive features which indicate quality and authenticity. She helped us to understand the qualities of a West Anatolian Ghirlandaio rug of the late 17th century.
“Tonal changes in the color signify a natural dyed carpet. Each time a new batch of dye was made it would be of a different consistency which is why you get this natural change of color which you don’t get in a synthetic dye from a bottle which is always of the same consistency.
“These are the kind of ‘fingerprints’ we are looking for in hand woven carpets — these types of irregularities. Some colors are particularly sought after by collectors — for example, the color aubergine — which was a rare plant.
“Browns were woven from fungi and mushroom bark — these dyes have a natural corrosive element within them — so when you run your hand over the surface of a 16th or 17th century carpet you will feel a relief effect happening from this natural corrosion. Reds also corroded. Blues and greens are stronger due to the natural preservative in the dye which keeps the colors looking better for longer.
“We want to be assured that the carpet hasn’t been re-piled or overly restored,” she said.
The way the artworks were presented in the pre-sale exhibitions greatly added to the excitement around the auctions. Having the experts on hand to share their special knowledge helped bring the works to life and added to the appreciation of the rich cultures of the respective regions.
International bidders prove Mideast art is all the rage at Christie’s London auction
International bidders prove Mideast art is all the rage at Christie’s London auction
Highlights from Art Week Riyadh: Selected works by some of the Saudi artists participating in the inaugural edition
RIYADH: Selected works by some of the Saudi artists participating in the inaugural edition of Art Week Riyadh, which begins April 6.
Maha Malluh
‘X-Rayed 1’
The Najd-born artist is one of the most significant figures in the Kingdom’s contemporary scene. Several of her works will be on show at AWR. This one comes from her “X-Rayed” series, in which Malluh used images from an actual x-ray scanner of an actual passenger’s luggage, as would be seen at airport security when possessions are “being targeted and scrutinized,” the artist has written. “What makes these images even more peculiar is that the suitcases contain cassettes (labeled in Arabic) that are linked to dogmatic interpretations of Islamic practice,” she continued. “It is these ideas, when exported, which have led to several social evils, including the export of extreme thinking and rigid philosophy.” Like many of Malluh’s other series, “X-Rayed” examines “my own culture and its transformation from tradition to modernity.”
Lulwah Al-Homoud
From ‘The Language of Existence’
This work forms part of the influential Riyadh-born artist and calligrapher’s “The Language of Existence” series, in which she presented interpretations of the myriad Arabic names of Allah. According to her gallery, it “reimagines language as a universal visual system, transcending conventional meaning to create a new form of communication.” Al-Homoud created this ‘language’ by “deconstructing the letters of the Arabic language by using mathematical squares to compose new codes for each letter. With these codes, I inscribe the 99 names of God,” she has written. “The first step towards enlightenment is to search for the inner. It is this inner truth that leads to the light of knowledge. My art is concerned with the inner veracity of everything. It is a deep look at creation and its hidden rules that led me to the truth of existence…”
Ahmed Mater
‘Hulm’ (Dream)
In his 2011 work “Cowboy Code II,” Ahmed Mater used plastic gun powder caps glued onto a wooden board to spell out, in English, the various ‘rules’ he had imagined. In this more recent work, Mater uses the same technique to present the Arabic word hulm, which translates to ‘dream.’ Whether that’s an instruction, a comment on what visitors to Riyadh can experience, or an explanation of his inspiration for the piece is unclear, but it’s one of a number of similar works the 45-year-old Tabuk native — arguably the most influential Saudi contemporary artist — will be presenting at AWR (others include “Hurriya” (Freedom) and “Salam” (Peace)).
Manal AlDowayan
‘Totem 1 (Dearest Women)’
The prolific Dhahran-born artist represented the Kingdom at the Venice Biennale last year (with “Shifting Sands: A Battle Song) and, unsurprisingly, is participating in perhaps the most significant arts event yet to take place in the Kingdom. Among several of her works on display at AWR is this piece from 2018, which AlDowayan has described as “an attempt at creating a permanent memorial of a fragmented moment.”
She continued: “I look at the symbols used on the covers of books written by the religious men to address women and their bodies. I attempt to reform the symbols into new representations so that the invisible becomes visible.” The work is not, she stressed, “an attempt to critique or analyze history, but more of a totem of healing to help resolve the past in order to engage with the present, and time in general.”
Bashaer Hawsawi
‘Warm Space 1’
Much of the Jeddah-based visual artist’s practice revolves around found objects and mixed media, exploring, according to theartists.net “notions of cultural identity, cleansing, belonging and nostalgia.” Cleansing is the focus of this piece, which — like several other works by Hawsawi — uses the red-bristled broom heads familiar to anyone living in the Gulf and indicative of the remembered daily routines from which Hawsawi draws inspiration for much of her work. Cleansing also carries a spiritual symbolism — the purification of the self — that features regularly in Hawsawi’s work.
‘Theater Tour’ initiative celebrates local culture across Saudi Arabia
- Award-winning play ‘Bahr’ debuts in Baha, with performances in Jubail, Dammam, Al-Ahsa to follow
- New project boosts local theater, community engagement and cultural awareness nationwide
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Theater and Performing Arts Commission launched the “Theater Tour” initiative on Thursday to bring exceptional theatrical performances to cities, governorates and villages across the Kingdom.
The project aims to promote the cultural and performing arts scene while encouraging community engagement, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The first phase begins with the play “Bahr” (Sea), running from April 3 to May 3, the SPA added.
The production will debut in Baha from April 3-5 at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Theater in the Cultural Center, before moving to Jubail from April 17-19 at the Royal Commission’s Conference Hall in Al-Fanateer.
It will then continue in Dammam from April 24-26 at the Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University Theater, and conclude in Al-Ahsa from May 1-3 at the Society for Culture and Arts’ Theater.
The project is part of the commission’s broader efforts to raise awareness of the theater and performing arts sector, while ensuring that cultural services are accessible in underserved areas and to marginalized communities, according to the SPA.
It also aims to support local theater groups, boost theatrical production and strengthen the cultural sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product.
Additionally, the initiative fosters investment opportunities and serves as a platform for discovering and nurturing emerging talent, the SPA reported.
The play “Bahr,” written by Abdulrahman Al-Marikhi and directed by Sultan Al-Nawa, has received critical acclaim, winning several prestigious awards, including for best actor, best script, and best overall production at the inaugural Riyadh Theater Festival, as well as best musical effects and best director at the 19th Gulf Theater Festival.
Art Week Riyadh: A ‘constellation of events’ that ‘pushes the boundaries’
- Curatorial team discuss the aims and intentions behind inaugural edition of AWR
RIYADH: The inaugural Art Week Riyadh begins April 6 in the Kingdom’s capital. A non-commercial initiative, AWR builds on the city’s already thriving art community while inviting international artists and art lovers to join in.
Princess Adwaa bint Yazeed bin Abdullah, head of Art Week Riyadh, explained the event’s inspirations and goals in a statement, writing: “Art Week Riyadh is born from a belief in the power of art to inspire, challenge, and connect us. Riyadh has long been a city of growth, and through this platform we hope to contribute to its cultural future — one that is open, dynamic and deeply rooted in both heritage and innovation.”
Curator Vittoria Mataresse heads a team including associate curators Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit-Lelandais and public program curator Shumon Basar who have worked tirelessly across multiple time zones over several months to bring the event to life.
“It was very important for us to be playful and not have the kind of rigid structure or format we’re used to seeing. Art Week Riyadh sits in between an exhibition and an art fair. It’s really a constellation of events,” Matarrese tells Arab News. “Unlike major art events that often impose universal themes and rely on globally established artists, we wanted to work within the frame of a regional art ecosystem, embracing the textures, the urgencies, the sensibilities of the Arabian Peninsula. We are trying to retrace something which is very specific and, in this way, we propose a critical departure (from the normal) format.”
The theme of AWR’s inaugural edition is “At the Edge” and the event brings together more than 45 galleries from the Kingdom, the wider Arab world, and beyond. There are three main sub-themes: “Everyday Life,” “Landscapes,” and “Motifs.”
JAX District in Diriyah will host three major exhibitions offering an expansive insight into Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity. A number of established Saudi artists whose studios are based in JAX will also be opening their doors to the public. Meanwhile, in central Riyadh, more than 15 galleries housed in the Al-Mousa Center will present exhibitions, and a wider program across the city will feature several talks and collaborations.
Gandit-Lelandais, who has worked in the region for more than two decades focusing on contemporary Arab art, tells Arab News: “Art Week Riyadh really is different, because the market and the ecosystem is different. I think it’s about making people stop implementing the European and American formats into different places because they don’t have to fit — the format can be adapted.”
The team have designed the event as “an umbrella for everyone to gather under,” Gandit-Lelandais says. “It is inclusive and it’s meant to be niche — it is for the public, and for the art enthusiasts and for the collectors.
“With Riyadh growing so fast, the kind of dialogues that we have built are so important to bring people here, but not with a Western look at how art should be,” she adds.
Harasani, the lone Saudi in the curatorial team, tells Arab News: “I’m really excited to link our local artists and our local scene (with the world). I think an educational foundation is super-exciting and super-necessary at this time for artists, art practitioners, young collectors and everyone that comes under that umbrella. We wanted to allow these generations of artists from Saudi Arabia to narrate themselves, beyond the usual framework.”
While none of the curators live in Riyadh, they all offer a nuanced and sensitive take on the capital.
“I’ve been working in Riyadh so much that it does feel like a second home,” Harasani says. “Riyadh is culturally different from Jeddah, where I’m from, and it was interesting to delve into the art scene. I thought it would be similar to the Hajazi scene, but it’s completely different. It was a massive learning experience for me to see that — given that we’re all from Saudi — there are so many different ways of working, ways of producing, ways of communicating.”
Riyadh’s rapid expansion, both physically and culturally, over the past decade contributes to the richness and diversity on show at AWR, the curators say.
“That’s the beauty of the Middle East, 10 years here is 100 years elsewhere,” Matarrese says. “I think what’s really smart about what Saudi is doing right now is they’ve learned from other people’s mistakes and they’re looking at how to navigate this in a better way.
“There’s one thing that is important in the DNA of what we are doing,” she continues. “Our visitors are not going to know what to expect. We really pushed the boundaries of what this could be showing; we are trying to deconstruct the conventional display models, to experiment with something else and re-articulate the dialogue between the different parts of the art world.”
For Harasani, the event is another marker of the artistic progress that has been made in the Kingdom in recent years.
“This did not exist when I was growing up,” she says. “The fact that we can see our dreams come to fruition now — and (see) bigger projects like Art Week Riyadh — I feel very lucky and privileged to be a part of that.”
New York Arab Festival returns with diverse lineup
- The New York-based dance music collective showcases beats from the Arab, Asian, and Pan-African diasporas
DUBAI: The fourth edition of the New York Arab Festival (NYAF) runs from April 1- May 30, with headlining acts including DJ duo Haza Party.
The New York-based dance music collective showcases beats from the Arab, Asian, and Pan-African diasporas. The festival will play host to a special version of the collective’s signature “Haza Souk” event, featuring a lineup of DJ sets, merchandise outlets and food.
On April 8, Palestinian poet Ahmad Almallah will present his latest book “Wrong Winds” while April 13 will see Palestinian rockstar, singer and songwriter Rasha Nahas perform at Brooklyn Art Haus.
A double bill dedicated to the centennial of dancer Samia Gamal will take place at the Jalopy Theatre on April 16, with New York based choreographers and dancers Angie Assal and Soumaya MaRose celebrating the history of the late Egyptian choreographer.
Meanwhile, the NYAF Arab Shorts Film Program at the Bartos Screening will feature the work of filmmakers including Alia Haju and Khaled Jarrar.
From May 1-4, NYAF will collaborate with experimental theater club La MaMa ETC for a “festival within a festival” celebrating Arab artists in four multidisciplinary “happenings” featuring spoken word performances based on texts by the late poets Etel Adnan and Joyce Mansour, dance, music and multimedia visuals. Performers include Andrew Riad, Nadia Khyrallah, Sarah Brahim, and Amr Kotb, among others.
On May 14, Lebanese American singer-songwriter H.Sinno’s “Poems of Consumption” — which turns Amazon customer reviews into pop songs — will be presented.
NYAF was established in 2022 to commemorate Arab American Heritage Month and “fight the erasure of Arab and Arab American identities from NYC, a place Arabs have called home for over three centuries,” the festival said in a released statement.
Maja-Ajmia Zellama tackles cultural identity and grief in ‘Têtes Brûlées’
- The Belgian-Tunisian director discusses her Saudi-backed debut feature
RIYADH: Belgian-Tunisian-Danish filmmaker Maja-Ajmia Zellama’s debut feature “Têtes Brûlées” (‘Hotheads’) received two special mentions at last month’s Berlin International Film Festival.
The film, which was backed by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund, has been praised for its depiction of a universal story through a singular lens. Zellama wrote and directed the movie, which follows the story of Eya (played by Safa Gharbaoui), a 12-year-old girl growing up in a Tunisian-Muslim family in Brussels, whose life revolves around her beloved 25-year-old brother Younès and his friends. Following Younès’ sudden and unexpected death, Zellama takes viewers through the culture, customs, resilience, and solidarity of this tight-knit community through the family’s mourning period.
“I didn’t expect so many compliments about the film from people who are not Muslims or not from immigrant backgrounds,” Zellama told Arab News. “I spoke a lot with a teenager from Germany, and I understood at that moment how grief is so universal. There are other people who say, ‘Oh yes, I’m learning a new thing about a new culture and new religions.’”
Zellama also expressed her appreciation for the Red Sea Fund’s support of a “multicultural” story. “For me, it was a major recognition to have this help and support from a Muslim country. It helped me to make this kind of film, and I’m also very curious about working more with Middle Eastern countries,” she said.
The film tackles aspects of identity, the Arab diaspora, collective grieving, religion, cultural customs, and commentary on street crimes. Largely set in the family house, constantly filled with people after Younès’ tragic death, one of the director’s goals was to show the contrasting comfort and simplicity of immigrants’ family lives compared to their lives outside of their homes.
“For me, the most complicated part of identity and immigration is systemic racism,” Zellama said. “It’s oppression in the society. But in the home, it’s not always so complicated. There are nuances; it’s complex, but in a positive way.”
Zellama’s own life was a major inspiration for the film. Her father is Tunisian and her mother Danish. She was born and raised in Belgium around a large Tunisian community. Her household was home to two religions and three languages. “The question of identity has been present all my life, of course, as a mixed kid, but also as a person of the diaspora,” she explained.
And Zellama’s experience of losing a much-loved family member was central to the narrative. “When I was grieving with my family, it was the most difficult time in my life. But it was also one of the moments in my life when I felt the most love and solidarity, because we were surrounded by so many people who were (making us) dinner, going to the grocery, giving money,” she said. “So, for me, yes, there is the grief that we had in our family, but also — and most of all — the love.”
The film explores spirituality in a nuanced and open way, particularly in its funeral and burial scenes, inspired by Zellama’s own journey with faith. She was keen to have Eya find a kind of forbearance through religion while also providing representation and an alternate, more complex, portrayal of Islam in countries outside the Middle East.
“Muslims are very different, and each person practices religion in a different way,” Zellama said. “She finds this way, and she’s good with it.”
And the film has proven to cross cultural and religious boundaries, with viewers from other faiths and backgrounds connecting to its central themes.
“Just to hear the Qur’an, (even if) you don’t understand it, you can feel something,” she said. “You don’t know what it is, but you can feel something. When you see her praying, you can imagine. And, for me, that’s enough.”
The character of Eya is key to the film’s success: she’s mature, but also playful; she’s creative, clever, defiant, and works to break stereotypes throughout the film. One of the most affecting, and effective, scenes is when she breaks away from the group of mourning women to help bury her brother alongside the men.
“I wanted to have a character who grows up in a lovely family who give space for this young girl to be what she wants,” Zellama said. “She doesn’t (think to) herself, ‘Oh, this is a boy thing or a girl thing.’ No, she’s doing what she wants to do at this moment.
“She’s very impulsive, and the impulsivity was also an important thing in the character of Eya,” she continued. “She looks like so many Muslim women and children I see around me. So, this was not me making a ‘statement.’ It was more me thinking that there are so many strong little girls around me, and I wanted to have a character like that.”
