DO1301

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Lot 32
  • 32

Rachid Koraïchi

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Rachid Koraïchi
  • Scrutateur de l’Arrière Passion (Scrutineer of the Hidden Passion)
  • signed; titled on a label affixed to the reverse
  • acrylic on paper laid down on canvas
  • Executed circa 1985.

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 2006

Literature

Nicole de Pontcharra and Pierre Restany, Cris Ecrits: Rachid Koraïchi, Brussels 1991, n.p., illustrated twice in colour

Condition

Condition: This work is in good condition. Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are accurate; although the yellow in the background is closer to darker orange and the blue tends towards a Yves Klein blue in the original work.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Born in Algeria in 1947, the descendant of an old Sufi family, Rachid Koraïchi works with effortless facility in several contrasting mediums, producing pieces that belong firmly within the Sufi tradition yet which nonetheless encompass intriguing aspects of modernity and universality. Through the use of Arabic calligraphy and symbols from both ancient and current cultures, Koraïchi movingly investigates the lives of the fourteen mystics of Islam: great Muslim thinkers and poets such as Rumi and El Arabi whose visions remain an enduring one throughout the world to this day.

Koraïchi's work is influenced by an abiding fascination with signs of all kinds, both real and imaginary, beginning with the intricate beauty of Arabic calligraphic scripts. His work is composed of symbols, glyphs and ciphers drawn from a wide variety of other languages and cultures. Whether the source is numerological perceptions of ancient cultures or his inventive Chinese ideograms that appear to share similar forms, Koraïchi’s eclectic work integrates these crossing systems of signs into an organised and fascinating description of the diverse world that surrounds us.

He has sought to reunite Islamic rituals and mysticism with the aim of reviving the arts and crafts culture of the region by fusing ancient techniques and modern practices with dramatic effect. Koraïchi puts huge value upon the craftsmen he works with as the keepers and messengers of the semantic ‘know how’. His work is an ode to his ancestors’ spirituality, craftsmanship and voyage through history, an elegiac homage to a venerable cultural past.