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Lot Essay
Shaker Hassan Al Said is one of Iraq’s most important artists, who—through his writing and art—greatly contributed to the development and discourse of Modern art in the region.
Painted in 1991, Untitled is a remarkable example of Said’s iconic Wall series, presenting the culmination of his artistic and philosophical pursuits. Informed by Sufism and Western and Eastern philosophies, Al Said developed his Contemplative Art Manifesto and One Dimension theory during the 60s and 70s. He stated that art is ‘a testimony to the majesty and beauty of the universe’ where the artist becomes a witness; transmitting and contemplating on the beauty of the world. Art is no longer a perspective on the world as it exists, but rather the world as it is witnessed. To achieve this, Al Said pursues the ‘one dimension’ in art, a dimension that has no beginning or end, one that is linked to eternity and the universe. He achieves this in his Wall series by treating the pictorial surface as walls, leaving marks or traces on them similar to graffiti on the walls of the street.
Scraping and graffiti emphasise his pursuit to reduce the physicality of ‘wall’ into one dimension. His marks of scratches on sand, Arabic numbers, and different signs are the material traces acting as transmissions of Al Said’s role as a witness and passerby.
Shaker Hassan Al Said was born in Samawah, Iraq, in 1925. After receiving a degree in social science, Al Said pursued painting at Baghdad’s Institute of Fine Arts, where he studied under Jewad Selim and held his first solo show in 1954. He co-founded the Baghdad Group for Modern Art with Selim before obtaining a scholarship to study in Paris at the Académie Julian, the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He later returned to Baghdad, where he taught history at the Institute of Fine Arts from 1970-80. He then began his writings on art, including the Contemplative Art Manifesto (1966) and One Dimension theory (1971). Shaker Hassan participated in shows at Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad; Sultan Gallery, Kuwait City; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Institut du monde arabe, Paris; Venice Biennale, Venice; National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, among others. His works are found in institutional collections such as Barjeel Art Collection, Sharjah; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Museum of Modern Art Baghdad, and Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, among others.
Painted in 1991, Untitled is a remarkable example of Said’s iconic Wall series, presenting the culmination of his artistic and philosophical pursuits. Informed by Sufism and Western and Eastern philosophies, Al Said developed his Contemplative Art Manifesto and One Dimension theory during the 60s and 70s. He stated that art is ‘a testimony to the majesty and beauty of the universe’ where the artist becomes a witness; transmitting and contemplating on the beauty of the world. Art is no longer a perspective on the world as it exists, but rather the world as it is witnessed. To achieve this, Al Said pursues the ‘one dimension’ in art, a dimension that has no beginning or end, one that is linked to eternity and the universe. He achieves this in his Wall series by treating the pictorial surface as walls, leaving marks or traces on them similar to graffiti on the walls of the street.
Scraping and graffiti emphasise his pursuit to reduce the physicality of ‘wall’ into one dimension. His marks of scratches on sand, Arabic numbers, and different signs are the material traces acting as transmissions of Al Said’s role as a witness and passerby.
Shaker Hassan Al Said was born in Samawah, Iraq, in 1925. After receiving a degree in social science, Al Said pursued painting at Baghdad’s Institute of Fine Arts, where he studied under Jewad Selim and held his first solo show in 1954. He co-founded the Baghdad Group for Modern Art with Selim before obtaining a scholarship to study in Paris at the Académie Julian, the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He later returned to Baghdad, where he taught history at the Institute of Fine Arts from 1970-80. He then began his writings on art, including the Contemplative Art Manifesto (1966) and One Dimension theory (1971). Shaker Hassan participated in shows at Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad; Sultan Gallery, Kuwait City; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Institut du monde arabe, Paris; Venice Biennale, Venice; National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, among others. His works are found in institutional collections such as Barjeel Art Collection, Sharjah; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Museum of Modern Art Baghdad, and Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, among others.