ABDULRAHMAN AL SOLIMAN (B. 1954), UNTITLED (RECITING)

signed and dated in Arabic Al Soliman 1980 (lower left)

oil on canvasboard

76 by 56 cm. 30 by 22 in.

Executed in 1980. 

This rare Cubist works by Al Soliman represents the ultimate amalgamation of the tangible experiences of the artist; of images that influence and breathe life into his work. The resemblance to many European Cubists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque demonstrates the mimetic quality of the artist's early body of work – of the complex, tectonic use of light and shadow.

Produced amid a transitional period in the Kingdom in the 1980s, this work can be set against a backdrop of sociopolitical shifts as Saudi society adopted a more conservative trajectory. There is a delicacy depicted through the simplicity of Al Soliman’s subtle use of line, colour, and shadows that conveys a certain meditation. Furthermore, the subject bears testimony of the artist's love of his country and its culture, of the place he calls home. Through this early Cubist work, Al Soliman invites the viewer to experience a sense of quietude and nostalgia.