Lot 169: Ahmed Alsoudani (Iraqi, b. 1975)

Ahmed Alsoudani (Iraqi, b. 1975)
Untitled
signed, numbered and dated '4/30 Soudani 08' (lower margin)
color hard ground etching with aquatint, spit-bite aquatint, drypoint, roulette, and scraping and burnishing
image: 23¾ x 21 5/8in. (60.3 x 55cm.)
sheet: 30½ x 27in. (77.5 x 68.6cm.)
Executed in 2008, this work is number four from an edition of thirty

Robert Goff Gallery, New York.
Private Collection, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2009.

CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EASTERN WORKS ON PAPER

For the second time, Christie's Dubai is pleased to offer a gathering of nine lots in the present 'Works on Paper' section. The first lot (lot 169) is an untitled colour etching by the pioneering contemporary Iraqi artist Ahmed Alsoudani, known for his serious use of paper as a medium with his iconic series using large sheets of paper, often depicting complex and tormented compositions with bright colours. This is followed by two vibrant 'Untitled' works (lots 170 & 171) by the Iraqi modern master Dia Al-Azzawi, both executed with gouache and dating from the 1980s, a transitional period for the artist as he moved towards more geometrical shapes in his works from then onwards, yet preserving some very subtle references to calligraphy. Two intimate watercolour drawings by Paul Guiragossian (lots 172 & 173) come next, both of which illustrate two of the Lebanese master's signature subject matters. The first depicts Motherhood with a mother adoringly holding her child, dominated by a wide range of delicate blue hues, whilst the second composition comprises of Guiragossian's recognizable elongated figures, executed with superimpositions of transparent layers of luminous colours, displaying the artist's skillful spontaneous brushstrokes. In lots 174 & 175, three works on paper by Fateh Moudarres are sold as one lot in the former and the latter includes two drawings of 1969-1970 by fellow Syrian artist Nazir Ismail, depicting a still life and figures. Moudarres' ink drawings are a soft rendition of people from the North, with their small black heads, which he sometimes also used to illustrate his poetry books. Finally, lots 176 and 177 are two very different types of works on paper, one by the Iranian modern artist Sohrab Sepehri (lot 176), characterized by its subtly poetic colours and sophisticated watercolour brushstrokes sweeping through the drawing to outline the shape of a tree, and the other is by Egyptian pop artist Chant Avedissian (lot 177), presenting a view of the Al Nile Bridge, executed with thick opaque colours inherent to the medium used, gouache. Avedissian's drawing forms a striking antithesis in terms of style, medium, composition and subject matter in comparison with Sepehri's watercolour, revealing not only the versatility but also the importance of the media used on works on paper throughout the evolution of the Middle Eastern Art movement.


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