Dozens of artworks from the Middle East will go on sale at Christie's online spring auction in London this month.
About 60 paintings and sculptures from the early 20th century to the present day will be on display at Christie’s London Auction House from May 27 to June 11, with online bidding open from to June 2 to 16.
The preview usually takes place at Christie's Dubai in DIFC but has been moved to he auction company's London headquarters this year due to the conflict in the Middle East.
The highest valued work is River Rapids (2021) by the pioneering Palestinian artist Samia Halaby, estimated to sell for £80,000 to £120,000 ($107,000 to $160,000).
Halaby has been active since the 1950s but the painting shows how she has constantly reimagined her craft over the decades.
River Rapids mimics the turbulent movement of flowing water, with seemingly endless layers of colourful strokes.
“She's reflecting on this translucent quality of water, the movement, the energy, and finds a way to balance that with her beautiful use of colour,” Christies’ specialist Marie-Claire Thijsen, who will oversee the auction, told The National.
“Halaby is so active and constantly pushing the boundaries of her practice. Her '60s and '70s works drew from engineering and was studying the effects of light and space in reflections of metal. They are more formal studies into the limits of geometry and abstract painting.
“Her work now looks more to her direct environment.” Ms Thijsen added. “She finds her inspiration in geometry from a natural perspective. Her works have become more immediate.”
A decorative abstract work by Baya, a self-taught Algerian artist, is also on sale at an estimated cost of £25,000 to £35,000.
A bird is depicted alongside string instruments including a harp, the Algerian quwaytara and a zither. “You can really see how she transforms the scenes from daily life into this richly imaginative composition,” Ms Thijsen said.
Baya's work will be presented at a major retrospective at the Tate Modern in London next year.
Also on display and up for sale will be Saliba Douaihy’s landscape painting of the Qannoubine valley in northern Lebanon. Though Douaihy painted the valley throughout his life, its execution in this 1980s work shows his experimentation with abstract after emigrating to New York.
The Mar Qozhaya monastery, a medieval Maronite edifice carved into the rocks of the mountains beneath the town of Ehden, was one of Douaihy’s favourite subjects. “You can really see this delicate balance between a kind of chromatic exploration and these abstracted shapes, while still really focusing and paying homage to the beauty of the Lebanese landscape,” Ms Thijsen said.
Work by Saudi painter Abdul Halim Radwi will also feature in the sale, with an abstract painting from 2002. Valued at £60,000 to £80,000, it portrays doves flying in a series of coloured circles resembling the eye of a hurricane, beneath a green landscape with two figures.
“This idea of bringing stability through strong leadership has an interesting Saudi political resonance,” Ms Thijsen said.
Freedom and Poet, a rare bronze sculpture by Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli, also features in the sale at an estimate of £70,000 to 100,000.
It is part of Tanavoli’s acclaimed Poet series, in which he conceived of the bard as the symbol of freedom, peace and spirituality. To achieve this, Tanavoli drew on the history of Persian poetry and Sufi mysticism.
There is hope the exhibition will celebrate Middle Eastern culture at a time of deep challenges.
Ms Thijsen, who spoke to The National from Art Dubai, said there had been a lot of “positive” anticipation of the show when it was first announced to collectors.
“Even at this difficult time, art is a way for our clients to find positivity, because there is so much beauty and culture in the region that often gets overshadowed,” she said. “I hope our sale can contribute to that as well.”
