Ali Talib (Iraqi, b. 1944)
These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Ali Talib (Iraqi, b. 1944)

Qanber Agha

Details
Ali Talib (Iraqi, b. 1944)
Qanber Agha
signed in Arabic (lower right)
oil on canvas laid down on board
30 1/8 x 36 3/8 in. (76.6 x 92.4cm.)
Painted in 1964
Provenance
Private Collection, Baghdad.
Acquired from the above by the present owner’s uncle,
and then gifted to the present owner.
Special notice
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Michael Jeha
Michael Jeha

Lot Essay

‘Heads, palms and fngers remain basic units of the artistic vision in Ali Talib’s logic. In fact, from an aesthetic point of view, we cannot grasp his artistic concerns without his humanistic rooting, to the extent that in some of his paintings, he reduces the finger to a tip or the eye to a tear. This external point of departure at first glance, stems from the foundation of self-expression; or that this vision, at its core, is unique subjective one. As if by doing so, he tries to realize his intellectual abstract self, transforming it into a post subjective abstraction, or in other words, into an artistic ‘happening’ that is beyond representation’ (Shakir Hassan Al Saeed on Ali Talib, “The aesthetic of the painting of Ali Talib,” M. Muzzafar et al., Ali Talib, Lebanon 2009, p. 14)

Talib departed from the consciousness developed by the 1950s groups such as Jewad Salim and Faeq Hassan and the social romanticism that prevailed, and instead was more focused on creating a state of mind, whether it be loneliness, anxiety and meditation, through his unique artistic language.

The present work depicts multiple heads in various dimensions joined together, existing both independently and simultaneous forming the cohesive units to the body of a bull, noted by the head on the right side of the composition. Recognising these squares as ‘basic units’ to the overall formation of the subject, whether through the head, the mask, the leg or the tail, the artist is concerned with the foundations of its creation. These illustrations have a childlike quality, its rudimentary shapes appear as part of a larger metaphor of self-exploration, finding expressionism through the torn-apart body, and allowing the viewer the agency in turning the position of the painting.

Juxtaposing these abstract shapes, some more figurative with bulging red eyes and spiky crowns, and a bull’s head, against a background of complete abstraction crates a space of isolation and solitude. The heads, floating within empty space, develop a sense of antiquity, and the rough textured surfaces appear as if this were a cave painting mural. Each figure occupies a distinct time and place through its light and colour gradations and spontaneous linear movement.

‘Man and stone exchange place in such a way that they become like a window with a dual vision’ and the very immortality of the surface, with its cracks and earthy colours, open a wider discussion into the restless human psych and the early stages of man’s personal life’ (Shakir Hassan Al Saeed on Ali Talib, “The aesthetic of the painting of Ali Talib,” M. Muzzafar et al., Ali Talib, Lebanon 2009, p. 39).

Ali Talib continued to develop a message of human tragedy within his oeuvre by infusing allusions of traditional ancient themes, reminding us of their continuity.

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