Lot Essay
“I have focused on studying the colour and composition of the desert environment, in content and form, through the effect of the force of the sun on the desert landscape, so that colour values have vanished, an effect common to Impressionist paintings. I compensated by using bronze colours, and basic colours with a focus on their warmer tones, in order to convey a realistic impression of the force of the sun and the extent of its effects on our nature. I have observed how the sun affects a landscape by spreading its rays on every element that exists on earth, and that we can find aesthetic compositions in form and colour in the subjective colours and forms of the existing elements that are revealed to us through that spreading movement of sunlight, even where there is no shadow…If we had to give this a label, we might call it ‘desert art.”
(Mohammed Al Al Saleem, ‘Kalima min Ajl al-Fann' in Muhammad al-Salim, exh. cat., Riyadh, Saudi Arabian Society for the Arts, 1976, pp. 12-16.)
Christie’s is honoured to present a rare work by Saudi pioneer Mohammed Al Saleem, coming from the collection of his family. The artist is credited as one of the founders of Saudi Arabia’s modern art scene, whose individual style and dedication to promoting arts helped pave the way for the Kingdom’s art education. In the Light of Faith, You See Happiness was painted at a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, representative of Al Saleem’s later series in which he explored spatial divisions to the canvas and elements of optimism amidst intensive financial crisis.
The artist is considered to be one of the leaders within the Modern Gulf art scene advocating a fusion of both abstract and figurative techniques and promoting dialogues of contemporaneity and authenticity within heritage. Coining the term ‘Horizonism’ in his quest to depict his native Saudi landscapes, he replaces the horizon of the desert with Arabic calligraphy and harmonises form and landscape within a subtle colour palette, as seen in the present work. Playing with both lyrical and formal abstractions in earthy tones, his desert scapes offer a path towards meditation and experimentation of calligraphic compositions.
Al Saleem was one of the first artists to leave Saudi Arabia to pursue formal arts education, departing in 1970 to study at the Academia delle Belle Arte in Florence. Just before in 1967, he held one of the first exhibitions in Riyadh, making a significant mark in the municipality's art scene. Working alongside other pioneering artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, he opened an art supply store which became an important destination nationwide. In 1979, he established Dar Al Funoon Al Sa’udiyyah (The Saudi Art House), inaugurated by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Fahad Al-Saud. The space represented a meeting place for many Saudis and non-Saudis and provided students and emerging artists with free art supplies. In the following year, Al Saleem established the International Gallery, an independent art gallery run by the Saudi Art House, which hosted about twelve solo and collective exhibitions, individually funded or sponsored by government and nongovernmental organisations.
Al Saleem’s dedication to the country’s art movement in organizing exhibitions and promoting arts education ultimately came to a close following the government’s inability to fund such projects. This caused the artist to declare bankruptcy experiencing extreme difficulties from 1988 through 1995, during the same time the present work was painted. As Najla Al Saleem states, “my father may have expressed his crisis of hope by dividing the painting into several sections, all of them carrying optimistic expressions about goodness, truth, beauty and happiness.”
Al Saleem’s works have been exhibited at international shows including the Venice Biennale in 2024 and 2017; NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery in 2022, and Diriyah Biennale in 2021. His work is held in important public and private collections including Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riyadh, amongst others.
(Mohammed Al Al Saleem, ‘Kalima min Ajl al-Fann' in Muhammad al-Salim, exh. cat., Riyadh, Saudi Arabian Society for the Arts, 1976, pp. 12-16.)
Christie’s is honoured to present a rare work by Saudi pioneer Mohammed Al Saleem, coming from the collection of his family. The artist is credited as one of the founders of Saudi Arabia’s modern art scene, whose individual style and dedication to promoting arts helped pave the way for the Kingdom’s art education. In the Light of Faith, You See Happiness was painted at a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, representative of Al Saleem’s later series in which he explored spatial divisions to the canvas and elements of optimism amidst intensive financial crisis.
The artist is considered to be one of the leaders within the Modern Gulf art scene advocating a fusion of both abstract and figurative techniques and promoting dialogues of contemporaneity and authenticity within heritage. Coining the term ‘Horizonism’ in his quest to depict his native Saudi landscapes, he replaces the horizon of the desert with Arabic calligraphy and harmonises form and landscape within a subtle colour palette, as seen in the present work. Playing with both lyrical and formal abstractions in earthy tones, his desert scapes offer a path towards meditation and experimentation of calligraphic compositions.
Al Saleem was one of the first artists to leave Saudi Arabia to pursue formal arts education, departing in 1970 to study at the Academia delle Belle Arte in Florence. Just before in 1967, he held one of the first exhibitions in Riyadh, making a significant mark in the municipality's art scene. Working alongside other pioneering artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, he opened an art supply store which became an important destination nationwide. In 1979, he established Dar Al Funoon Al Sa’udiyyah (The Saudi Art House), inaugurated by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Fahad Al-Saud. The space represented a meeting place for many Saudis and non-Saudis and provided students and emerging artists with free art supplies. In the following year, Al Saleem established the International Gallery, an independent art gallery run by the Saudi Art House, which hosted about twelve solo and collective exhibitions, individually funded or sponsored by government and nongovernmental organisations.
Al Saleem’s dedication to the country’s art movement in organizing exhibitions and promoting arts education ultimately came to a close following the government’s inability to fund such projects. This caused the artist to declare bankruptcy experiencing extreme difficulties from 1988 through 1995, during the same time the present work was painted. As Najla Al Saleem states, “my father may have expressed his crisis of hope by dividing the painting into several sections, all of them carrying optimistic expressions about goodness, truth, beauty and happiness.”
Al Saleem’s works have been exhibited at international shows including the Venice Biennale in 2024 and 2017; NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery in 2022, and Diriyah Biennale in 2021. His work is held in important public and private collections including Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riyadh, amongst others.