The Art Dubai fair closed its doors yesterday on the most successful fair in its seven year history, with $45 million in fine art exhibited over the course of the four day fair.  Initial reports signal strong sales across the board, and underlines the rising prominence of the city for the global arts market.  “The growth of Art Dubai over the past seven years reflects the rising prominence of the UAE as a centre of art and cultural discourse.” said Fair Director Antonia Carver.  (more…)

The 2013 Edition of Art Dubai opens this week, featuring a number of high-profile works from Yayoi Kusama, Chris Burden, and Wim Delvoye.  Featuring 75 museum groups from over 30 countries, the show has brought $45 Million in art to the Middle Eastern City.  “From the perspective of business, Dubai has centrality no one can deny,” said Arif Naqvi, a Dubai real estate executive. “In the regional cultural perspective, the city is acquiring the same centrality.” (more…)

The Art Dubai fair has announced its commissioned projects for 2013, including works by Mary Evans, Mohammed Kazem and Fatima Al-Qadiri.  The works range in scope and size, from a festival wide radio project to a video gallery installed within a narrow stairwell, and reflect the blend of Arabic and global artworks on view at the fair.          (more…)

Les Chadoufs (1934) by Mahmoud Said, via Christie’s

This past Wednesday Dubai’s art connoisseurs gathered together for a sale of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art.  A highlight of the sale were 25 masterpieces from the collection of Dr. Mohamed Said Farsi featuring Egyptian modern painters.  The auction concluded in a total of $15.2 Million outdoing its pre-sale total of $4.3 million.

Les Chadoufs (1934) by Egyptian painter Mahmoud Said was the great sale of the evening bringing in a record $2.42 million, reportedly the most expensive work made by an Arab artist ever to be auctioned at Christie’s Dubai.  The work is from the collection of Dr. Farsi and had a pre-sale estimate of $150,000-$200,000. It depicts a desert landscape with men workers wearing turbans and veiled women carrying jars above their heads envisioning Egypt’s Pharonic and Islamic past.

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