Spanning across the 1950s to the early 2000s, the artists featured here used different and innovative approaches in their use of lines, whether drawn, painted or erased in an abstract, figural or calligraphic way, and a strong colour palette to evoke a sense of emotion beyond the physicality of the work itself.

Eight modern masters whose works stand out for their bold lines and bright colour combinations

Highlighting Line and Colour

From abstraction, experimentation with different materials, reinterpretations of ancient symbols and evocations of city and country-scapes, this chapter explores the myriads of ways in which the realm of memory was expressed. The artists present here are both from the modern and contemporary generations, and hail from different backgrounds, but share a visual language that is striking in its meta physicality.

Eight works in which landscapes, real and imagined, have inspired artists. Expressing stories of displacement and tracing ancient roots into the modern artistic vernacular.

Abstraction and Memories of Landscape

This chapter brings together eight artworks featuring either a figure or animal, be it realistic or dream like. Spanning modernity to the contemporary, moving from idealised representations to modernist preoccupation with the fragmented and disintegrated body together, it is interesting to see the approach chosen by these various artists in their depictions of their subject. Through it all, these figurative paintings represent a mirror through which we come to see and understand our own nature.

Exploring enduring themes of beauty, love, and life through figural representations using both human and animal subjects.

Figuration, Both Human and Animal

The Azari Collection represents a capsule of modern Iranian art, from a time when the country’s artistic production was arguably at its most exciting. The collection came to play an invaluable role in the trajectory of the Iranian modern art movement thanks to the dedication and sensitivity to the artistic and culturally critical times in which Sheila and Eric Azari found themselves.The couple’s hope was always to nurture and act as a conduit between cultures to realise the promise and power of global cultural exchange. Sotheby’s has the honour of sharing works from their collection for the third time by artists both known and lesser known; including Sohrab Sepehri, Massoud Arabshahi, Nasser Ovissi, and Fereydoun Rahimi-Assa.

The Azari Collection

Sotheby’s is honoured to present a selection of thirteen paintings and watercolours, including a notebook by renowned Saudi Arabian artist Abdulhalim Radwi. Produced during the time that the artist was living in Spain, these lots, some of which are preparatory works and sketches, attest to the artist’s love of colour and way of working. Hailing from a Spanish private collection, these personal works were gifted directly by the artist to his friend, Father Faustino Moreno Villalba, a parish vicar, chaplain and active member of the Institute of Historical Studies, Madrid. A serious historian and author, he also wrote a book on Abdulhalim Radwi and contributed to his exhibitions in Spain.

Abdulhalim Radwi: An Exploration

London

Dubai

Chairman, Middle East &amp; India

Edward Gibbs

Director | Head of Sale, Modern & Contemporary Middle East

Alexandra Yasmina Roy

SVP | Head of Contemporary Day Sale, Contemporary Art, New York & Middle East

Ashkan Baghestani

Deputy Chairman, Middle East

Katia Nounou Boueiz

Deputy Director | Middle East Representative and Specialist | MENA

Yasmeen Gailani

Cataloguer | Modern & Contemporary Middle East

Elika Blake

Sale Coordinator

Tiffany Po

Post Sale Services | Client Accounts Receivable Manager

Geanina Spinu 

Meet our Specialists

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Sotheby's Modern &amp; Contemporary Middle East online auction, which will be open for bidding from 21 April – 1 May, is thrilled to present an exceptional selection of prominent works by coveted Modern and Contemporary artists from the Arab world, North Africa, Iran, and Türkiye. At the forefront of this diverse showcase are esteemed icons including Fahrelnissa Zeid, Bahman Mohassess, and Shakir Hassan Al Said. We have a remarkable line up of contemporary artists including Mehdi Moutashar, Hassan Hajjaj and Hanaa Malallah. Joining the curation are two important collections – the Azari family collection which comprises important Iranian modernists, and a remarkable selection of works by Saudi Arabian pioneer Abdulhalim Radwi from a Spanish private collection.

Modern and Contemporary Middle East