Christie’s London to Showcase Modern, Contemporary Arab Art

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Christie’s London will present artists from the United Arab Emirates and wider Arab world, in Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, from 20 July to 23 August.

Held at Christie’s St James’s headquarters, the show is a partnership between the auction house, the Barjeel Art Foundation, and the U.A.E. Ministry of Culture and Youth.

‘The vast majority of the artworks in the exhibition have never been seen in the U.K. before,’ said Barjeel Art Foundation founder Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, who also noted the gender-balanced display.

Over 150 artworks, dating from 1939 to 2023, will be presented across two distinct sections. Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, presents 100 works of modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa, on loan from the collection which was established in 2010.

The section includes Sudanese painter Ibrahim El-Salahi; Lebanese-American poet and painter Etel Adnan; Tunisian artist and women’s rights activist Safia Farhat, who exhibited in the 2022 Venice Biennale; and Mohamed Melehi, a modernist associated with Morocco’s Casablanca school.

Emirati Art Reimagined: Hassan Sharif and the Contemporary Voices, meanwhile, focuses on the art and legacy of Emirati artist Hassan Sharif.

Sharif was an early pioneer of conceptual and experimental art practices in the U.A.E. The section survey’s the artist’s practice from the 1980s to 2015 and spans textiles, painting, drawing, sculpture, and assemblages.

The impact of Sharif’s art, tutelage, and support for contemporary Gulf artists is highlighted by accompanying works from collections of the U.A.E. Ministry of Culture and Youth.

Among those are works by contemporary Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, New York-based photographer Farah Al Qasimi, and mixed-media artist Hussain Sharif.

Christie’s Dr Ridha Moumni, who curated the show, said that it ‘shines a light on the unparalleled creativity, diversity, and rich histories of North African and West Asian cultures.’ —[O]

Main image: Marwan Kassab-Bachi, Head (c. 1975–76). Tempera on canvas. 195 x 260 cm. Courtesy © Barjeel Art Foundation.