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Highlights from Christie’s upcoming 2014 Dubai auction
The exhibition will also feature a watch auction for the second year in a row.
A year after the sale of Farhad Moshiri’s (Iranian, b. 1963) “Secret Garden”, showing a glittering Bear in a forest landscape for $987,750, the sale has another playful piece by the master of Middle Eastern Pop Art. “Bunny Rabbit” (from the Fluffy series) from 2009 shows a large pink toy rabbit picked out in glitter and acrylic, to be sold at an estimated price of $150,000 – 200,000.
A story of the importance of the relationship between artist and patron is revealed in the inclusion of a work by the Egyptian artist Omar Al Nagdi (b. 1931) whose untitled work from 1989 is to be sold to benefit a French foundation – H & H Mécénat – which offers support to young artists. The organisation was established by Francine Henrich and her son Philippe.
A striking portrait by Ayman Baalbaki (Lebanese, b. 1975), titled “Al Mulatham A” from 2011 will also be among the most sought after works with an estimate of $40,000-60,000. The artist says of the iconic images of the veiled soldiers “ …the face of the Mulatham is as much about defeat as about heroism..”. The figure is setting against a floral background, a common pattern seen in Lebanese homes.
One of the most important pieces in the sale is an Shafic Abboud’s work (Lebanese, 1926-2004- shown on page 1) which was used as the cover illustration of the artist’s monograph published in 2006 following a major exhibition in Paris. “Nuits V” from 1988 was previously owned by a great friend of the artist and is now offered from an important Lebanese private collection with an estimate of $80,000 – 120,000.
Another important contemporary piece is “Black 3” by the Iranian Ali Banisadr (b.1976) whose pieces are rare at auctions, and hold an estimate of $120,000 – 180,000. The large canvas has splashes of dense emerald hues with bodies floating amidst calligraphic marks, squiggles and drops of paint.
From Turkey’s leading contemporary artist Azade Köker (b. 1949) is “Ecstacy”, a mixed media collage landscape, with tiny, eerie skull faces very lightly covering the surface. The three-panelled, large-scale work from 2013 is estimated at $60,000 – 80,000.
A visual feast of works, from the modern masters who helped to shape art from the Middle East to leading contemporary artists from Turkey, Iran and the Arab world, will be unveiled at the opening of the pre-sale exhibition for Christie’s spring auction.
