DUBAI: Throughout August, Sotheby’s is running “Hafla,” a sale series billed as “a celebration of Middle Eastern art.” “Hafla” comprises four exhibitions: “Khamseen: 50 Years of Saudi Visual Art,” “Masarat Al-Hibr: Exceptional Qur’anic and Calligraphic Works from the Bashir Mohamed Family Collection,” “A2Z Advisory Jewelry at Sotheby’s,” and an exclusive capsule collection of handbags with designs inspired by Saudi Arabia. “Khamseen,” Sotheby’s head of sale, modern and contemporary Middle East, Alexandra Roy, says, is the largest component of “Hafla.
” It was curated in collaboration with Jeddah’s Hafez Gallery and its founder, Qaswra Hafez, and consists of paintings, sculptures, photography, prints and installations dating from the 1960s up to the present day. “We’ve known Qaswra Hafez for a long time, and this has been a project that he’s been thinking about doing for a while,” Roy says. “It’s very much overdue.
There have been some amazing shows in London on Saudi visual culture and, of course, a lot is happening in the Kingdom right now. It’s an amazing moment to be part of that. “Sotheby’s was part of the two art biennales in Saudi Arabia, so we’re continuing on from that,” she adds.
“We have 60 artists (represented) and it’s the first time some of the works have ever been seen. We go back to circa 1965, and it’s been difficult to source works from as early as that, but we really wanted to show (work) f.