Kandinsky's 'Tensions calmees' is on view at Sotheby's in DIFC from May 17 to 18. Courtesy Sotheby's
Kandinsky's 'Tensions calmees' is on view at Sotheby's in DIFC from May 17 to 18. Courtesy Sotheby's
Kandinsky's 'Tensions calmees' is on view at Sotheby's in DIFC from May 17 to 18. Courtesy Sotheby's
Kandinsky's 'Tensions calmees' is on view at Sotheby's in DIFC from May 17 to 18. Courtesy Sotheby's

Kandinsky painting unseen for almost 50 years goes on display in Dubai today


Alexandra Chaves
  • English
  • Arabic

A 1937 work, by Russian painter and pioneer of abstract art Wassily Kandinsky, that has been in a private collection for nearly half a century will be on view in Dubai this week before heading to auction in June.

Titled Tensions calmees, the oil on canvas was once owned by American art collector and businessman Solomon R Guggenheim, who was a friend of Kandinsky's.

The work is a colourful abstract composition filled with overlapping organic and geometric forms. Kandinsky drew inspiration from music, naming some of his works "improvisations" and "compositions", relating colour with emotion or sound. Tensions calmees also contains these references, with shapes resembling instruments and notes.

Guggenheim, the founder of the eponymous museum in New York, acquired about 150 works by the artist over his lifetime. Tensions calmees was exhibited in a 1947 exhibition at the museum that was shown after Kandinsky's death in 1944.

In 1964, Guggenheim sold 50 artworks from his collection at a Sotheby's auction. The buyers of Tensions calmees from that year have kept the work in their private collection and it has not been presented to the public again until this year.

The painting – valued at $25 million to $35m – is a highlight of the Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art evening sale, which will take place in London on Tuesday, June 29.

It was previously shown in New York before travelling to Dubai, where it will be on view at Sotheby's in Dubai International Financial Centre on Monday and Tuesday, before heading to Taipei, Hong Kong and London.

Katia Nounou Boueiz, head of Sotheby’s UAE, described the work as a “rich, jewel-like painting”.

Its arrival in the country coincides with Louvre Abu Dhabi's exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy – Towards a Universal Language, which examines links between abstract art from the Arab world, the Far East and the western canon. The show, which runs until Saturday, June 12, features 80 works by abstract art pioneers, including Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Joan Miro and Willem de Kooning.

  • Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, right, Manuel Rabate, Louvre Abu Dhabi director, left, and Souraya Noujaim, scientific, curatorial and collections management director at Louvre Abu Dhabi at the museum's new exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. DCT Abu Dhabi
    Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, right, Manuel Rabate, Louvre Abu Dhabi director, left, and Souraya Noujaim, scientific, curatorial and collections management director at Louvre Abu Dhabi at the museum's new exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. DCT Abu Dhabi
  • Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's new exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language shows Paul Klee's 'Oriental Bliss', right, on display next to Wassily Kandinsky's 'Trente [Thirty]'. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's new exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language shows Paul Klee's 'Oriental Bliss', right, on display next to Wassily Kandinsky's 'Trente [Thirty]'. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • The new show examines how artists in the early 20th century sought to establish a visual vocabulary that would appeal to all, borrowing heavily from Asian and Islamic calligraphy as their source material. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    The new show examines how artists in the early 20th century sought to establish a visual vocabulary that would appeal to all, borrowing heavily from Asian and Islamic calligraphy as their source material. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • Installation view of the Lineaments section of Louvre Abu Dhabi's latest exhibition titled Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of the Lineaments section of Louvre Abu Dhabi's latest exhibition titled Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
  • Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's latest exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
    Installation view of Louvre Abu Dhabi's latest exhibition Abstraction and Calligraphy - Towards a Universal Language. Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; Seeing Things
Walls

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TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

ICC T20 Team of 2021

Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
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US PGA Championship in numbers

Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

Trump v Khan

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2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

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Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

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19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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Ready Player One
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