Contemporary Arab, Iranian and International Art

“We are delighted about our partnership with TAG Heuer, a pioneer Swiss watchmaker. It’s a great brand with a very strong presence in the Gulf and we are happy to associate both of our activities in the promotion of emerging, as well as well established artists from the region and all over the world. The sponsorship allowed us to prepare our fourth auction of contemporary Arab, Iranian and international art and to secure top-quality works. This is the continuation of a long-term relationship with TAG Heuer and we hope that we will collaborate on other art-related projects in the future” said Sheikha Lulu Al-Sabah, founder of JAMM.

The sale will be held on Tuesday 12 November 2013 at the Contemporary Art Platform in Kuwait with pre-sale viewing on Monday 11 November 2013. Henry Highley, Head of Under the Influence sale at Phillips in London and a Specialist in the Contemporary Art Department, will conduct the auction.

Over 50 works in a variety of media by contemporary Arab, Iranian and international artists will be auctioned with the majority of lots estimated under $10,000, providing an opportunity for young collectors in the GCC region and beyond to start or to add to their collections of contemporary art.

The auction highlights include Camille Zakharia’s (b. 1962) photographs, After the Rain (2008) and Circles (2008), both estimated between $6,000–$8,000. Zakharia’s fascination with urban photography dates back to his earliest photographs taken in Beirut 20 years ago. Inspired by the effect of war on Beirut’s buildings and their inhabitants and driven by a desire to observe and document structures of every kind, whether they housed families, business or rituals, he began a journey photographing cities that at some point or another, he called home.

Among the Western artists there is Natasha Kissell (British, b. 1978) whose work, Crepuscular Rays, is an oil on canvas dated 2013 and estimated between $4,200–$6,500. Kissell’s paintings effuse aspiration and radiate wonderment. Often including modernist architecture, she places highly designed structures into imaginative landscapes. Her paintings act like utopian visions, which reflect the possibilities of the mind. Other international artists include American photographer Bert Stern, British artist Justine Smith, British-Romanian painter Peter Harrap and Italian artist Cristiana de Marchi.

Among Iranian artists there is Ramtin Zad (b. 1984), whose Untitled (from the Resurrection series), 2011 is an acrylic on canvas carrying the estimate of $7,500–$10,00. Mohammed Rahimi’s (b. 1980) Baba Karam, 2013, is an oil on canvas depicting a mustachioed character dancing in jubilation (estimate $6,000–$7,500). Hadieh Shafie’s (b. 1969) work, Grid 29, ink and acrylic on Arches paper (estimated between $10,000–$15,000) highlights the significance of repetition, process and time. Shafie uses the words for ‘love’ and ‘envy’ in Farsi in repetition, incorporating concentric forms of text and material to magnify its meaning. Other Iranian artists include Farideh Lashai, Parastou Forouhar, Shahriar Ahmadi, Leila Pazooki, Behruz Heshmat and Reza Derakshani.

The highest value lot in the sale is a bronze sculpture dated 1983 by the acclaimed Kuwaiti artist Sami Mohammad (b. 1943). Entitled The Challenge, this work is among the best examples of his works, which deals with human suffering and emancipation from social constraints.

North Africa is represented by Hamza Bounoua (Algerian, b. 1979) with two mixed media and reverse painting on Plexiglas, estimated between $6,500–$8,000 each; Raja Aissa (Tunisian, b. 1958) with a mixed media work entitled Scheherazade 345 and estimated between $7,500-$10,000, and a painting by Khaled Hafez (Egyptian, b. 1963) entitled Man and Lion in Blue. Mohamed Abou El-Naga’s (Egyptian, b. 1960) work, entitled Portraits of Cairo (2011), is mixed media on canvas depicting a man covered up except for his eyes. Yasmina Alaoui’s (Moroccan-French, b. 1977) work, 14-point star deconstructed, grey and black (2013) is ink and acrylic paint on paper and wood, estimated between $22,000–$26,000. There are 11 Kuwaiti artists represented in the sale. They include: Sami Mohammad, Amira Behbehani, Mohammed Al-Kouh, Fareed Abdal, Mohammed Ramadan, Ibrahim Al-Atiya, Aziz Al-Mudhaf, Mahmoud Ashkanani, Ahmad Al-Ayoub, Abdul Aziz Arti and Ebrahim Habib. Other Gulf artists include Halim Al- Karim (Iraqi, b. 1963), Tarek Al-Ghoussein (Palestinian-Kuwaiti, b. 1962), Mohammed Kazem (Emirati, b.1969) and Sami Al-Turki (Saudi, b. 1984).

Proceeds from the sale of artworks by Saddek Wasil (Saudi, b. 1973) and Sami Al-Turki will benefit the Athr/JAMM Watermill Grant, which will allow a Middle Eastern emerging artist to attend the 2014 Summer Programme at the Watermill Center in Long Island, New York. For the past 17 years, the principal activity of the Watermill Center has been the International Summer Programme led by Artistic Director Robert Wilson. Each summer approximately 60–100 artists from over 30 nations gather at Watermill for 5 weeks of intense creative exploration and artistic development. Proceeds from the sale of two works by Iranian artist Maryam Heydarzadeh will benefit the Noor Dubai Foundation, which envisions a world free from preventable forms of blindness. Heydarzadeh (born in 1977) is a poet, lyricist, singer and painter. She has published 8 books of poetry and has held two solo exhibitions of her paintings. She was born blind.

“TAG Heuer and Trafalgar are delighted to be this year again the exclusive partner of the JAMM contemporary art auction in Kuwait. Thanks to Sheikha Lulu Al Sabah’s will and support, JAMM’s 4th auction will highlight some of the most talented and innovative artists in the Middle East. This event is also a good reminder of the influence of art in the creative process of watchmaking and its connections with watchmaking craftsmanship and know-how.

In 2013 we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of CARRERA, our manufacture’s iconic collection. In 1963 when Jack Heuer imagined a watch dedicated to motor racing drivers, most of his inspirations came from a range of innovative ideas, including early 60s modernism: the geometric purity of Oscar Niemeyer’s new architecture, for example, the curving, sensual lines of Eero Saarinen’s buildings and chairs, and the clean, uncluttered aesthetics of pop art. Since then the CARRERA collection has been a huge success based on a strong and appealing design that is reinforced by an avant-garde know-how that has allowed TAG Heuer to pioneer most of the industry’s major innovations for over 150 years. For all those reasons supporting JAMM’s initiative seemed natural to us,” said Kolia Neveux, TAGHeuer Middle East Sales Director.

About JAMM: Established in 2009, JAMM is an independent strategic art advisory service founded by Kuwait based art-journalist and former Middle East Director for Phillips de Pury Sheikha Lulu Al-Sabah. The mission of JAMM is to create cultural projects without geographical boundary by advancing Arab and Iranian artists in the West and Western artists in the East and by furthering collaboration between the two. Projects range from large-scale exhibitions and events to small-scale activities focuses on the development of the art market in the Middle East and other key regional markets. For more information on JAMM, please visit www.jamm-art.org.

About TAG Heuer: Founded in Saint-Imier in 1860 by Edouard Heuer, TAG Heuer has marked the history of luxury watchmaking, especially in the fields of chronographs and ultimate precision. A legend in prestige Swiss watchmaking and one of its most innovative brands, TAG Heuer has built on its active commitment in the sports world to create the most accurate timing instruments and wrist timepieces in the world. TAG Heuer is the world leader in high precision luxury chronographs with an unequalled mechanical accuracy of 1/10th, 1/100th, 1/1000th and even 5/10,000th of a second. In 2012, thanks to the lessons learned through these achievements, TAG Heuer won the world’s most coveted watchmaking award, the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix “Aiguille d’Or.” From the Olympic Games in 1920 to its role as official watch and chronograph for the legendary Indy 500 race today – for which it has developed instruments with a precision of 1/10,000th of a second – TAG Heuer is unrelenting in its quest for innovation, excellence, performance and prestige. This ambition is reflected in its partnerships with F1 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team and its World Champion Jenson Button, Audi Sport in the Le Mans 24 Hours and endurance races, the Automobile Club of Monaco for the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, and the new FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s top competition for electrically powered racing cars. TAG Heuer is also a partner of Oracle Team USA, 2013 champion of sailing’s most prestigious trophy, the 34th America’s Cup. More than ever, the brand epitomizes prestige and performance through active and socially responsible partnerships with actress Cameron Diaz, actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Shah Rukh Khan and Chen DaoMing, and WTA tennis champion Maria Sharapova. TAG Heuer is the number one industrial manufacturer of 100% in-house Swiss chronograph movements: the Calibre 1887, an integrated column-wheel automatic chronograph movement with an oscillating pinion based on a Heuer invention of 1887; and the Calibre 69, a fully integrated mechanical chronograph movement. It also produces the Monaco V4, a movement driven by belts, the Carrera Mikrograph, accurate to 1/100th of a second, and the Carrera MikrotourbillonS, a stunning double tourbillon on a 50Hz movement developed on the Mikrograph platform. This exceptional level of watchmaking excellence has earned the company membership in the most exclusive circle of the Swiss watchmaking elite, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH).