This Too Shall Pass but shall leave its mark on the art world
- 17 Jun 2020
This Too Shall Pass is Sotheby’s, the world’s leading auction house’s, latest initiative in the UAE. Sotheby’s Dubai joins forces with the community of leading galleries in the Emirates for a trailblazing global online auction, presenting prominent Modernists (June 18 – 25). The Modernists will hold the stage – or floor — alongside a new generation of artists to collectors from across the globe. A portion of sale proceeds will benefit the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) COVID-19 response. Marking the inaugural online sale by an international auction house in the Middle East, This Too Shall Pass brings together sixty works from seven of Dubai’s leading art galleries in a project that is a first of its kind. The sale will offer works by established artists already represented in institutions worldwide, alongside rising stars who are starting to make a name for themselves internationally.
In line with the UAE’s cultural mission, the selection will promote artists from the Emirates and beyond to a new generation of art lovers around the world. Viewed together, the works in the auction will open a window into the boundless cultural landscape of the region, for collectors at home and the world over.
A collaborative initiative by the galleries of the vibrant cultural district Alserkal Avenue, the partnership includes Lawrie Shabibi, The Third Line, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Carbon 12, Green Art Gallery, Leila Heller Gallery and 1 x 1 Art Gallery.
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The auction will be open for bidding from June 18 – 25, with 10 per cent of the galleries’ proceeds to be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) response to the pandemic’s impact on refugee families and children across twenty countries in the MENA region.
Working closely with governments, partners and communities, UNHCR is focusing on protecting forcibly displaced populations to ensure that health, water and hygiene systems are quickly adapted and scaled up, as well as providing urgent cash-based assistance to those experiencing additional economic distress.
“Sotheby’s has long been at the forefront of the UAE’s cultural endeavours, introducing artists from across the region to new global audiences. During these unprecedented times, working together with these galleries feels like a natural partnership, as we use our extensive digital reach and online presence to amplify their initiatives and create new collecting opportunities worldwide,” says Ashkan Baghestani, Director and Head of Contemporary Curated Sale, Sotheby’s London.
“This auction is testament to over a decade of dedication our community of galleries has put in to foster the blossoming art scene in Dubai and beyond. Our spirit of collaboration has been made all the more essential during the pandemic, and it is well and truly evident in this sale.
“While Covid-19 has touched most of our lives, it has also heightened the suffering of those who are more vulnerable, and that is why a portion of the proceeds will go towards providing essential support to those most in need,” says William Lawrie, co-founder of Lawrie Shabibi.
Thus far in 2020, Sotheby’s has seen over a hundred online sales bring in excess of £175 million, more than doubling the full year online sales total for 2019. In March, a sale of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art was converted from a live to an online auction, totalling $2.7 million, with 60 per cent of lots exceeding estimates.
The auction was led by a radical work from Morocco’s modernist master Mohamed Melehi, which soared to a record-breaking $487,339, nearly seven times its estimate, after 30 bids were placed on the piece.
Sotheby's Dubai presents year-round events, including selling and non-selling exhibitions, events and talks, watches and jewellery valuations, reflecting the spectrum of its international sales and extensive client services.
Artists figuring in the current event include Hamra Abbas, Farhad Ahrarnia, Zeinab Al Hashemi, Hashel Al Lamki, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Abdel Qader Al Rais, Kamrooz Aram, Reza Aramesh and Abdulaziz Ashour.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. It delivers life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights, and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. It also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality.
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. It became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012).
It has now a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners.
Sotheby’s also presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division.