This spring collectors of art will be treated to Christie’s ‘Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art’ in Dubai on 17 – 18 April, 2012. The sale will include works by Louay Kayyali, Paul Guiragossian and Nasrollah Afjehei, and will be held at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai with pre-sale viewing from the Sunday prior to the sale.

Michael Jeha, Managing Director of Christie‟s Middle East and specialist in charge of the sale, said: “It is always very encouraging to have a strong selection of works already consigned so far in advance of the sale and we look forward to adding other important works over the coming months prior to the April sale.”

The highlight of the sale is a beautiful calligraphic work entitled ‘Wave’, by the highly respected and internationally known Iranian artist Nasrollah Afjehei. The large-scale canvas depicts the movement and energy of the crashing wave through the tightly-written words which expand and contract in parallel ‘strands’, simulating the curve of the wave. It was painted in 2010 and is estimated at $80,000-120,000.

From the Syrian modern master Louay Kayyali (1934-1978) is a figure of an ‘Old Man’ painted with oil on masonite, a type of hardboard (estimate: $50,000-70,000). Another Syrian artist, Saad Yagan, will be represented in the sale for the first time with the work ‘The Newspaper Seller’. The painting, estimated at $6,000-8,000, shows an abstract news vendors hands embracing a collection of broadsheets, representing a cross-section of publications with their varying social and political views. Both the work by Kayyali and Yagan represent portraits of people at the margins of society.

Another key highlight is Paul Guiragossian’s ‘L’Adieu’, an early work from 1962, showing two figures embracing, the muted pastel colours of the oil scratched with lines which give depth to the seated group. Estimated at $20,000-30,000, it is a smaller work than the majority of pieces by the artist and unique as it shows such an intimate moment between the loving couple from an artist best known for his large scale works of groups of people with a more common focus on the relationship between mother and child.

Christie‟s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art, sponsored by Zurich, will take place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday, 17 – 18 April, 2012. Viewing is open to the public at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel on Sunday 15 April, 2pm to 10pm.