Doha – In collaboration with Katara, Christie’s is delighted to present a selection of nineteen Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish works of Art in Doha on March 23 and 24, 2012. The exhibition will be led by a work by the internationally recognised Iraqi artist Ahmed Alsoudani, and a key work by the father of modern Egyptian art, Mahmoud Saïd. Other highlights in the exhibition include pieces by Ayman Baalbaki, Jewad Selim, Louay Kayyali, Mohammad Ehsai, Parviz Tanavoli and Nasrollah Afjehei and the Turkish artist Burhan Cahit Doğançay. The exhibition is open to the public and accompanied by a special education program, led by Christie’s specialists and Christie’s Education.
Michael Jeha, Managing Director of Christie’s Middle East, said: “With such an impressive group of established artists exhibited alongside some new emerging artists, Qatari collectors and art enthusiasts will have a fantastic opportunity to see the past, present and future talent among the artists of the Middle East and Turkey. With each season that passes we see increasing interest from international collectors in the leading artists of the region and a fast growing engagement with a wider and younger audience for contemporary Middle Eastern works of art.”
The highest value picture in the exhibition is a work by the contemporary Iraqi artist Ahmed Alsoudani (b. 1975 / illustrated first page, left hand side), whose work has been sold internationally, most notably at Christie’s last October in London where a new world auction record was set for the artist when his Baghdad I sold for $1.1 million. The present work is a striking highly coloured image of a disfigured face surrounded by shattered forms. Painted in 2008, this is the earliest example of the artist including a dictator figure in his work and it carries an estimate of $300,000-500,000.
Mahmoud Saïd’s (1897-1964 / illustrated first page, right hand side) view of a woman and donkeys beside the Nile with a mountain range beyond comes from an unnamed private Egyptian collector and has not been seen in the public for many years. The river gently meanders across the picture with the landscape and a single figure and her donkey grazing in the foreground. Christie’s is also proud to hold the record for a work by Mahmoud Saïd, broken in 2010 with the sale of the artist’s The Whirling Dervishes for $2.5 million from the collection of Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi.
Opening time:
Friday, 23 March – 10.00am to 22.00pm
Saturday, 24 March – 10.00am to 22.00pm
Location:
KATARA Cultural Village / Katara Galleries / Building 22
Educational programme:
Friday 23 March 15.00 Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art tour
16.00 Islamic art – tour of the highlights of the exhibition
17.00-18.00 The language of Art
19.00-20.00 The Structure of the Art World
20.00 Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art tour
21.00 Islamic Art – tour of the highlights of the exhibition
Saturday 24 March 12.00 Islamic Art – tour of the highlights of the exhibition
13.00 Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art tour
14.00-15.00 Art as Investment
16.00 Islamic Art – tour of the highlights of the exhibition
17.00 Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art tour
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