Artworks from Saudi Arabian artists will be featured for the first time in an international auction by Christie’s Middle East in Dubai.

Christie’s will offer a selection of works by Saudi Arabian artists in their sale of international modern and contemporary art on April 29.

The art sale follows a jewels and watches sale scheduled for April 28, and will include works by six contemporary artists including Ahmed Mater Al-Ziad Aseeri, Ayman Yossri Daydban, Lulwah Al-Homoud, Mahdi Al-Jeraibi, Abdulnasser Gharem and Reem Al-Faisal.

“Last October we introduced Turkish artists for the first time in our sales and this season we have secured an exciting, select group of works from contemporary Saudi Arabian artists,” said William Lawrie, specialist in charge of the sale.

“I first saw their work in London at the progressive Edge of Arabia show at the SOAS Brunei Gallery at the end of last year and we decided that they would provide additional artistic talent to our sales which includes works from Egyptian, Turkish, Iranian, Lebanese, North African, Syrian, Iraqi, western and Moroccan artists,” Lawrie recapped.

Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie’s Middle East, said: “Much of the growth of the art market in the Gulf, and especially Dubai, has been because buyers of modern and contemporary art have begun looking at that of their neighbours and including it in their collections.

“As it develops, the market is becoming broader and deeper and is not reliant on a single group of buyers, particular region or country in the world,” he added.

“Indeed, we have noticed a significant increase in the number of buyers at our sales from the Middle East with 75 per cent of the Dubai art sale buyers last year from the region, up from an average of 50 per cent in previous years.

“With the introduction of this group of Saudi Arabian lots we are hoping to continue this trend and further extend the reach of the sales to collectors throughout the region.

“We are also delighted to continue our sponsoring partnership with Credit Suisse, one of the leading global providers of financial products and services in private banking, investment banking, and asset management,” Jeha concluded. – TradeArabia News Service