Shezad Dawood

Paradise Row, London
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition and in full working order. Upon close inspection there are a few inconsistencies to the purple neon in places.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

He is Successful who Grows in Purity, 2007, dates from Shezad Dawood's first major London solo show at Paradise Row, 'If I Should Fall from Grace with God', in which the half-Indian, half-Pakistani, London based artist exhibited a powerful body of work about the clashing cultures of East and West. In the present work, the graceful calligraphy references Islam's 99 Names of God and was juxtaposed with paintings of cowboys and vitrines of tumbleweed which alluded to the myths and traditions of the American Wild West, especially as articulated by the Western film genre.  Avoiding the obvious, Dawood presents an interesting reflection on the conflict. As Ana Finel Honigman said in her review of the show for Art in America, "In [Dawood's] view, the Iraq war is not a contest between modernity and its antecedents, or between a culture fixated on static abstract symbols and a slick, worldly society obsessed with the future at the cost of traditional values. Instead, he portrays a battle between two cultures' unyielding devotion to anachronistic systems of self-representation." (Ana Finel Honigman, 'Shezad Dawood at Paradise Row' in Art in America, April 2008)