Untitled
Description
Executed in: 1999
Medium: Mixed media and collage on paper, front and reverse
Size: 40 x 30 cm (unframed)
Signed and dated on the front lower left "Shaker hassan Al Said 1999".
Provenance
Private Collection, Lebanon. Acquired by the present owner from Abaad Gallery, Amman, Jordan.
Location
Beirut, Lebanon
Favourite
Description
Born in Iraq in 1925, Shaker Hassan Al Said is a key and innovative figure in the Iraqi modern art movement. He is an art critic, philosopher, art historian in addition to being a painter, sculptor and writer.
In 1948, he obtained a degree in social sciences which he taught until 1954, in parallel to studying painting and art history at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. Upon graduation in 1954, he held his first solo show in Baghdad. Al Said then moved to Paris where he attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, working under French painter Raymond Legueult until 1959. Upon his return to Iraq, he taught painting and art history at the Institute of Fine Arts (Baghdad). Throughout his artistic career, the artist moved from figurative and folk motifs towards an increasingly abstract, spiritual form of calligraphic representation.
He founded a modern art collective in 1971 called the One Dimension which based its manifesto on Sufi thinking and modern art. Rejecting two and three-dimensionality in art, they attempted to paint a single “inner dimension” which refers to eternity. Eternal space and time, the proximity with the divine are achieved in this single dimension through a meditative, introspective and contemplative act of creation. The importance of these works lies in the act of painting rather than the work itself. The introduction of Arabic calligraphy in his paintings later influenced another movement called the Hurufiyyah or School of Calligraphic Art.
Shaker Hassan Al Said and his One Dimension collective questioned the validity of the surfaces on which they worked. For this unique two sided collage made of various layers of papers and news-paper, the artist burned the edges of his work and its middle to create a hole adding delicately to the surface a mix of water color, pigments and pastel. One might think that this mysterious work with signs and calligraphy written on the artwork was under the influence of Sufi mystic philosophy that led the artist to experiment ways to transcend his medium.
The works of art which are subject to artist resale royalty rights ('droit de suite') are marked with an * in the description of the work of art. The amount of the royalties is calculated using a sliding scale of percentages of the Hammer Price.
Lots featured on Ans Azura’s platform may be subject to export regulations in the country where they are located and import regulations in the country where they will be shipped to. The location of each Lot is marked in its description.You are responsible for ensuring that you understand and comply with all relevant laws or regulations applicable in relation to the export or import of any Lot that you intend to purchase.
By registering to bid in auctions and by bidding on the Ans Azura platform you agree to the Bidder’s and Buyer’s Terms and Conditions which you may consult here. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. By bidding you accept personal liability to pay the Purchase Price consisting of the Hammer Price and the Buyer’s Premium plus the applicable Buyer's Expenses. Please note that the Total Cost Calculator will display the amount including the estimated Buyer’s Premium, exclusive of related artist resale royalties and any shipping expenses and all duties, taxes, VAT, and/or custom processing fees payable by the Buyer.
