The
Christie’s auction staged in Dubai on October 29 recorded the highest price
ever price paid for a painting by an artist from the region, when Fahr El Nissa
Zeid’s ‘Break of the Atom and Vegetal Life’ sold for $2,741,000.
This
is the second highest price ever made for a piece of artwork by a Middle
Eastern artist after Parviz Tanavoli’s bronze sculpture Wall entitled ‘Oh Persepolis’
sold in 2008 for $2.8m.
The
Turkish/Jordanian artist Fahr El Nissa Zeid is now considered as the highest
valued female artist from the Middle East. This sale far surpasses her previous
record of $1m.
‘Break
of the Atom and Vegetal Life’ was painted in 1962 and is considered the most
important work by the artist. Inspired by a synthesis of Islamic calligraphic
aesthetic traditions, Fahr El Nissa Zeid employs an intricate use of colours
and lines in a monumental and harmonious composition whereby purples morph into
violets, while greens, reds and blues ring with violent blacks.
The
Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art sale will continue
tomorrow evening, Wednesday 30 October at 7.00pm at the Jumeirah Emirates
Towers Hotel and the part III online-only sale runs until November 11.
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