Christie's Abu Dhabi Auction Features 70 Middle Eastern Art Lots, Kandinsky Exhibition

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Christie's is preparing for its inaugural fine art auction in Abu Dhabi, set to take place next week. The sale, titled“MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art,” will present approximately 70 lots of modern and contemporary works from the Middle East. Among the artists featured are Turkish abstractionist Fahrelnissa Zeid, Iraqi painter Faisel Laibi Sahi, Egyptian modernist Mahmoud Saïd, and Palestinian American artist Samia Halaby. Estimates for individual works in the auction range from $8,000–$12,000 to $500,000–$700,000.

“Mawasim,” meaning“seasons” in Arabic, commemorates 20 years since Christie's conducted its initial sale in the United Arab Emirates, which occurred in Dubai in 2006. Ridha Moumni, Christie's chairman for the Middle East and Africa, described the upcoming event to the Khaleej Times as“probably the most important event of modern and contemporary Eastern art for many years.” The auction marks the beginning of the UAE's busy November arts season.

Additional art events are scheduled for the region, including the first edition of Frieze Abu Dhabi, which will run from November 19–22 at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is slated to open its doors on December 11. Sotheby's will also conclude the second edition of its“Collectors' Week” in the emirate on December 10, with its“Breaking Ground” fine art sale hosted at the new Saadiyat Grove Experience Center on Saadiyat Island. Sotheby's sale will include works by prominent artists such as Andy Warhol and Claude Monet, with significantly higher top estimates.

Alongside its auction, Christie's will display three major works from its forthcoming New York sales. These pieces, not for sale in Abu Dhabi, will be exhibited starting Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Edition hotel on Al Bateen Marina. The exhibition features Wassily Kandinsky's Betonte Ecken (1923), estimated between $60 million and $80 million; Mark Rothko's Untitled (1968), estimated at $10 million to $15 million; and Pablo Picasso's Tête de femme (1939), with an estimate of $12 million to $18 million. Moumni noted the strong collector base in the region, stating to the Times:“The UAE is the country where we have the biggest number of bidders in our auction. In terms of concentration, the UAE is the land of collectors of modern and contemporary art.”

We previously reported:

Sotheby's will host its first art auction in Abu Dhabi on December 10, featuring significant works by Claude Monet and Andy Warhol alongside regional artists.

Frieze Abu Dhabi director Dyala Nusseibeh and gallerist Asmaa Al-Shabibi joined Margaret Carrigan for a live podcast recording.

Source: ARTnews

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