Blurring The Lines brings you the MENA region’s shifts along the spectrum of abstraction, edging closer or further from figuration and realism, depending on the tides. We have assembled pieces in this auction that are in dialogue with each other over three generations of painters, in a colorful, visual symphony that tells the tale of a choice: to see with one’s eye or to see with the mind

For this auction, a three-layered juxtaposition of works was chosen. 

Firstly, pieces by legendary pre-modern Levantine art pioneers Moustapha Farroukh, George Cyr, and Bibi Zoghbi, who are crucial to the development of that region’s modern era, along with breathtaking pieces by some of the most sought-after Arab modernists, namely Paul Guiragossian, Nasser Chaura and Shafiq Abboud. 

Finally, for the third layer, you’ll find works by contemporary artists such as Fadi Yazigi, Serwan Baran, Oussama Baalbaki, Ghada Zoghbi and many more who have really held the torch of greatness passed on to them by their predecessors, their works being exhibited worldwide and on high demand in local as well as international markets. 

Put together, the paintings selected are a slice of the lively history of middle-eastern art: the dialogue between generations of painters becomes apparent. For instance, Azad Hemee’s almost anthropomorphic roosters, in vibrant red, are sweeping across the canvas as if they were Hussein Madi’s iconic birds themselves peeling out of their two-dimensionality in a burst of rage. 

When Hassan Jouni’s La Moisson is faced with Ghada Zoghbi’s Something Went Wrong, the artists’ nearly identical brush strokes are apparent. It’s as if one relayed some of their energy to the other. Still, with such similar hands, the contrasts could not be more striking.