Artists of the Middle East celebrates a region of breathtaking creativity through the innovative, spectacular, and at times politically resonant work of more than 250 of its leading artists. Spanning diverse art movements and communities from Morocco to Iran, this is a groundbreaking survey of more than a century of artistic activity, from 1900 to the present.
Saeb Eigner shares his intimate knowledge of the stylistic, literary, and linguistic histories of the Middle East and North Africa in the detailed biographies of almost 100 culturally significant artists from the region, ranging from early modernists such as Shafic Abboud, Marwan, Bahman Mohassess, and Gazbia Sirry to contemporary artists such as Mona Hatoum, Nabil Nahas, and Shirin Neshat. Concise profiles of almost 160 additional artists offer further insight into those shaping this rich cultural landscape.
This essential, illuminating resource for anyone interested in modern and contemporary art establishes a dialogue between works that engage with the prominent issues of our age and the ever-changing social, political, and religious context of their creation.
Reviews
A rich artistic trove … In a handsomely produced volume, [Eigner] offers an authoritative survey of art encompassing a vast geographical area, from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east… Although shaped by international influences, the men and women whom Eigner profiles produced works infused with their Arabic heritage. It’s likely that most artists included here will be unfamiliar to Western readers; the volume serves, therefore, as an engaging introduction and informative resource. A generous compendium of luminous art.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Contributors
Saeb Eigner
Author
Saeb Eigner is a specialist in Arab art and culture with a deep knowledge of the Middle East and is a committed advocate of the arts. For several decades he has been an avid follower and at times a collector of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, and works from his collection are on long-term loan to institutions, including his alma mater the London Business School (of which he has been a governor for many years). Saeb Eigner was a cocurator of the British Museum’s exhibition “Word into Art: Artists of the Middle East” (2006; and touring from 2008) and is the author of Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran (2010 and its revised edition in 2015).
