Overview

The first-ever A-Z of the major modern and contemporary artists of the Middle East, a region attracting international attention for its new museums, private collections, exhibitions and art fairs. 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.

Full Product Details

9780500026137

Table of Contents

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)""

Author Information

Saeb Eigner is an Arabist with a deep knowledge of the Middle East and a committed advocate of the arts. For several decades he has been an avid collector of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, and much of his collection is on long-term loan to the London Business School (of which he has been a governor for many years). Saeb Eigner was a senior adviser on the British Museum's exhibition Word into Art: Artists of the Middle East (2006; touring internationally from 2008, with Saeb acting as co-curator), and is author of Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran (foreword by Zaha Hadid; Merrell, 2010).

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