23 Mar 2012

Contemporary international art auction at CMOOA

Overview of the contemporary Arab and Iranian art scene at CMOOA

CASABLANCA, March 6, 2012 - The Moroccan Company of Art Works and Items is happy to announce that the international contemporary art auction will be held on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

In keeping with the sales policy started in 2008, CMOOA intends to take up the challenge of bringing together in one auction some of the best works of international contemporary arts.

This has been achieved based on the exceptional quality pieces of international museum standards, which have been selected for this prestige auction.

Between painting, photography, installation and sculpture, this auction will feature over fifty lots. Ranging from the representations of exile, to identity issues, esthetics of violence and the worship of images in contemporary society, the variety of topics addressed shows the creative ferment in today's world.

A flagship section of the auction, the contemporary art scene from the Arab world will be represented by major artists such as Mounir Fatmi, who questions the relationship between the art and the sacred in 'Labyrinth' and 'Between the lines', a powerful work representing a Sourate cut out in a steel blade. Youssef Nabil will also be represented at this auction with 'You never left VIII', a work drawn from the eponymous movie. Using this particular technique halfway between photography and painting, Youssef Nabil draws up a striking parallel between exile and death. Still in the topic of exile, the installation 'Bukhara' will take us into the minimalistic and uncluttered world of Mona Hatoum. Here, the carpet symbolizes the 'home' the migrant always carries with them. As part of his project 'Tinkering the incurable', the works 'Love Supreme, 2007' and 'Never Basta (Prayer), 2011' by Mohamed El Baz, will also be offered for sale. Zakaria Ramhani and Sami Al Karim address the Arab spring, each with their own artistic sensibility. While Zakaria Ramhani recalls in 'Bye Bye Hosni' the revolutionary events which occurred in Egypt in 2011, Sami Al Karim, using a powerful set of images, questions in 'Aurs Al-Arab' the relationship between the political turmoil in the Arab world and the events which are currently affecting global economy. As to adhere most closely to the social and political reality of her country, Iranian artist Elika Hedayat denounces the greed of men towards power, in a political and committed work as well.
Reflecting different cultures and experiences, these works echo one another in the universality and topicality of the issues raised, promising to make this auction an unprecedented moment of discovery.

The catalog of the auction is available online: www.cmooa.com

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