Since the turn of the 20th century, the role of art in times of crisis has been widely disputed by critics and artists themselves–with some arguing for art’s incapacity to convey the scale of human suffering in times of war and other human catastrophes, and others heralding the strength of artistic voices in building powerful reflections on the present, tools to further re-envision unjust worlds.

A QUEST FOR PEACE continues our expanding aim to bring more visibility to Middle Eastern artists, to celebrate their resilience in grappling with, on the one hand, the hardships of quotidian life during war or in post-conflict societies, and, on the other, the effects of global marginalisation. One key learning from artists in the MENA region of the past 50 years is that peace is a difficult concept, a complex state that requires deep contemplation, resilience, and significant efforts to understand the present alongside developing global perspectives on history.

Peace, whether personal or collective, involves an internal struggle–a search for a place in the world. Many of the works in this selection, such as those of Etel Adnan, Juliana Seraphim or Jamil Molaeb, artists previously presented at Ans Azura’s auctions, contaminate outer with inner landscapes in vivid, visually astounding colours. The same could be said about the masterful works of Stelio Scamanga, whose practice has been partially forgotten and which we are happy to now be able to celebrate alongside other remarkable artists. Here, a mediation between the figurative and the abstract beautifully arises.