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拍品專文
“I have focused on studying the colour and composition of the desert environment, in content and form, through the effect of the force of the sun on the desert landscape, so that colour values have vanished, an effect common to Impressionist paintings. I compensated by using bronze colours, and basic colours with a focus on their warmer tones, in order to convey a realistic impression of the force of the sun and the extent of its effects on our nature. I have observed how the sun affects a landscape by spreading its rays on every element that exists on earth, and that we can find aesthetic compositions in form and colour in the subjective colours and forms of the existing elements that are revealed to us through that spreading movement of sunlight, even where there is no shadow…If I have ignored prismatic colours and overlooked shadow and light, that is because the force of the sun in our land exhibits chromatic and formal variations in warm colours and bronzes that blend with the colours of the spectrum, producing distinct tones and rhythms. If we had to give this a label, we might call it ‘desert art.’” (Muhammed Al Saleem, “Kalima min Ajl al-Fann” Muhammad al-Salim, exh. cat. (Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Society for the Arts, 1976) 12-16.)
Mohammed Al Saleem is one of the founders of Saudi’s modern art scene, whose individual style and dedication to promoting arts helped pave the way for the Kingdom’s art education throughout the region. Christie’s presents two rare works of his from the collection of the artist’s daughter that are part of a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, representing early historical works of his thickly impastoed desert landscape series and appearing at a critical juncture within the country’s nascent arts scene. Al Saleem’s dedication to the country’s art movement in organizing exhibitions and promoting arts education ultimately came to a close following the government’s inability to fund such projects. This caused the artist to declare bankruptcy, where many of his works were disseminated into the public domain. Twenty years after the artist’s death, Al Saleem’s daughter managed to trace these two works at The National Arabian Bank, trading each painting with a few of the works in her collection in order to secure these precious works.
Al Saleem was one of the first to have left Saudi Arabia to pursue a formal arts education, in the Academia delle Belle Arte in Florence. Before developing his mature style, the artist was interested in Neo-impressionist Edmond Cross’s works and his experimentation with broad, block brushstrokes. The artist is considered to be one of the leaders within the Modern Gulf art scene advocating a fusion of both abstract and figurative techniques, finding a lyrical depth within this. Coining the term ‘Horizonism’ in his quest to depict his native Saudi landscapes, he replaces the desert elements in the horizon with Arabic calligraphy and harmonises form and landscape within a subtle colour palette. Both works are part of the pillars of modern Saudi art movement, appearing at a time when individual efforts triumphed over societal issues concerning arts education and instruction. The first work, Allah is a historic example of his desert landscape technique, capturing the colour and compositions of his native desert environment. This work was painted when the artist was testing his Horizonism method with calligraphic compositions. Playing with both lyrical and formal abstractions, his desert horizon work offers a path towards meditation. Gradations of warm tones in formal variations are articulated within a clear rhythm. The word ‘Allah’ is drawn within the central composition, its sinuous and curved elements corresponding to the flowing rhythm of the desert landscape, in which the artists finds the transcendence nature of the scene, invoking God’s name. Applied to the surface are geometric patterns, this work was first exhibited in the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh and shown during a time where there were hardly any spaces to showcase and promote arts education.
The second work, Manzar Tabi’i’ is part of the same series and is a rare example of the artist’s experimentation in silver which the artist had rarely used in his work. This is the only traced painting from an experimental group of silver landscapes made by the artist in the mid-1970s, with minimal signs of his Horizonism technique. While the former experiments with a smoother and tighter composition than the latter, Manzar Tab’i’ encapsulates the rigidity of his technique; the severity and harshness of these lines are found within a subtle interplay between texture and form. As the artist’s daughter recalls ‘I remember clearly as a young girl that my father was experimenting with silver pigments when metallic colours were a new product in the market’ referencing Al Saleem as innovative in his approach and material. Exploring the silver pigment, the artist applied this with a variety of impressions, producing imprints such as the palm tree leaves out of very fine impressions in silver with light application of brown pigment. Manzar Tabi’i’ is both minimalist and extremely articulate in technique, developing forms with subtle impressions very much synonymous with the transient nature of the desert landscape.
Working alongside other pioneer artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, he decided to open an art supply store which became an important destination nationwide. In 1979 he established Dar Al Funoon Al Sa’udiyyah (The Saudi Art House) – a place that gathered many Saudis and non-Saudis, and he provided students and emerging artists free art supplies so that they could pay him back once their work started to sell. In the following year, he established an independent art gallery run by the Saudi art house under the International Gallery, which hosted about 12 solo and collective exhibitions for all, that was individually funded or sponsored by government and nongovernmental organisations. Along with other Arab modernists practicing at the time, Al Saleem is within this category of pioneering artists that promoted dialogues of contemporaneity and authenticity within heritage.
As the artist stated, ‘when I asked an Arab critic, Hussein Bikar for his opinion about my works, he told me ‘This style belongs to you alone, the desert style. Through it. I recognized this art as a Saudi art.’ (Muhammed Al Saleem, “Kalimat al-Ma’rad” Muhammad al-Salim, exh. cat. (Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Society for the Arts, 1976, 12-16.).
Mohammed Al Saleem is one of the founders of Saudi’s modern art scene, whose individual style and dedication to promoting arts helped pave the way for the Kingdom’s art education throughout the region. Christie’s presents two rare works of his from the collection of the artist’s daughter that are part of a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, representing early historical works of his thickly impastoed desert landscape series and appearing at a critical juncture within the country’s nascent arts scene. Al Saleem’s dedication to the country’s art movement in organizing exhibitions and promoting arts education ultimately came to a close following the government’s inability to fund such projects. This caused the artist to declare bankruptcy, where many of his works were disseminated into the public domain. Twenty years after the artist’s death, Al Saleem’s daughter managed to trace these two works at The National Arabian Bank, trading each painting with a few of the works in her collection in order to secure these precious works.
Al Saleem was one of the first to have left Saudi Arabia to pursue a formal arts education, in the Academia delle Belle Arte in Florence. Before developing his mature style, the artist was interested in Neo-impressionist Edmond Cross’s works and his experimentation with broad, block brushstrokes. The artist is considered to be one of the leaders within the Modern Gulf art scene advocating a fusion of both abstract and figurative techniques, finding a lyrical depth within this. Coining the term ‘Horizonism’ in his quest to depict his native Saudi landscapes, he replaces the desert elements in the horizon with Arabic calligraphy and harmonises form and landscape within a subtle colour palette. Both works are part of the pillars of modern Saudi art movement, appearing at a time when individual efforts triumphed over societal issues concerning arts education and instruction. The first work, Allah is a historic example of his desert landscape technique, capturing the colour and compositions of his native desert environment. This work was painted when the artist was testing his Horizonism method with calligraphic compositions. Playing with both lyrical and formal abstractions, his desert horizon work offers a path towards meditation. Gradations of warm tones in formal variations are articulated within a clear rhythm. The word ‘Allah’ is drawn within the central composition, its sinuous and curved elements corresponding to the flowing rhythm of the desert landscape, in which the artists finds the transcendence nature of the scene, invoking God’s name. Applied to the surface are geometric patterns, this work was first exhibited in the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh and shown during a time where there were hardly any spaces to showcase and promote arts education.
The second work, Manzar Tabi’i’ is part of the same series and is a rare example of the artist’s experimentation in silver which the artist had rarely used in his work. This is the only traced painting from an experimental group of silver landscapes made by the artist in the mid-1970s, with minimal signs of his Horizonism technique. While the former experiments with a smoother and tighter composition than the latter, Manzar Tab’i’ encapsulates the rigidity of his technique; the severity and harshness of these lines are found within a subtle interplay between texture and form. As the artist’s daughter recalls ‘I remember clearly as a young girl that my father was experimenting with silver pigments when metallic colours were a new product in the market’ referencing Al Saleem as innovative in his approach and material. Exploring the silver pigment, the artist applied this with a variety of impressions, producing imprints such as the palm tree leaves out of very fine impressions in silver with light application of brown pigment. Manzar Tabi’i’ is both minimalist and extremely articulate in technique, developing forms with subtle impressions very much synonymous with the transient nature of the desert landscape.
Working alongside other pioneer artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, he decided to open an art supply store which became an important destination nationwide. In 1979 he established Dar Al Funoon Al Sa’udiyyah (The Saudi Art House) – a place that gathered many Saudis and non-Saudis, and he provided students and emerging artists free art supplies so that they could pay him back once their work started to sell. In the following year, he established an independent art gallery run by the Saudi art house under the International Gallery, which hosted about 12 solo and collective exhibitions for all, that was individually funded or sponsored by government and nongovernmental organisations. Along with other Arab modernists practicing at the time, Al Saleem is within this category of pioneering artists that promoted dialogues of contemporaneity and authenticity within heritage.
As the artist stated, ‘when I asked an Arab critic, Hussein Bikar for his opinion about my works, he told me ‘This style belongs to you alone, the desert style. Through it. I recognized this art as a Saudi art.’ (Muhammed Al Saleem, “Kalimat al-Ma’rad” Muhammad al-Salim, exh. cat. (Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Society for the Arts, 1976, 12-16.).