Christie’s Fine Art and Luxury auction house recently unveiled the highlights of the forthcoming mid-career retrospective of leading Saudi contemporary artist Ahmed Mater.
Taking place at Christie’s headquarters in London from 17 July – 22 August, the exhibition titled Ahmed Mater: Chronicles features over 100 works, spanning paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture, video, and installation.
This exhibition represents a comprehensive exploration of Mater’s visionary practice.
Dr Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie’s Middle East and Africa, has meticulously curated the exhibition. The display will highlight major milestones in Mater’s career, including unseen early abstract paintings and the celebrated Illumination series.
Pivotal works from the Desert of Pharan project will also be showcased. Central to the exhibition is Mater’s site-specific commission for Wadi AlFann, AlUla, featuring sculptures and studies related to the Ashab Al-Lal project, alongside new works such as Magnetism Book, presented to the public for the first time.
Reflecting Saudi Arabia’s Transformations
Ahmed Mater: Chronicles offers a unique opportunity to witness the transformations of Saudi Arabia’s social and cultural landscapes. Through his practice, Mater documents and analyses these changes, imagining possible futures for a land of unprecedented religious, social, economic, and political influence.
His work reflects on the psychological impact of these transformations on individuals, communities, society, and the world.
This exhibition is the most comprehensive dedication to Ahmed Mater to date. It brings together various stages of his career, revealing his unique journey as a chronicler of his homeland’s material and spiritual facets.
Exhibition Highlights by Dr Ridha Moumni
A new addition to Mater’s iconic Magnetism series, Magnetism Book draws inspiration from the Holy Qur’an and other religious texts. Mater uses magnets and iron filings to symbolise sacred verses, highlighting the spiritual forces that uphold human faith.
Variations of the original Magnetism installation have been exhibited at prominent institutions worldwide, including the British Museum, London; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; and Brooklyn Museum.
Boundary
Taking the shape of a mihrab, the niche in the wall of a mosque indicating qibla (the direction of prayer), Boundary transforms this traditional form into an airport security scanner. This piece reflects on the surveillance and security measures that have become an integral part of daily life for Muslims
Ashab Al-Lal
An extraordinary preview of Ahmed Mater’s site-specific installation commissioned by Wadi AlFann, Valley of the Arts, AlUla, Ashab Al-Lal will take centre stage. This work explores the mythic space between subjective imagination and objective reality by generating a mirage within the desert landscape of AlUla, North-West Saudi Arabia.
Mater is among the first five artists commissioned to create site-specific land art installations for Wadi AlFann, set to welcome visitors in 2025. Alongside Ashab Al-Lal sculptures, the exhibition will feature a group of Illuminations and studies related to the project, including Illuminations I, previously exhibited at the House of Architectural Heritage, Bahrain, and at AlJadaidah, Arts District in AlUla.
Talisman X-ray Blue (Torso)
Part of Mater’s celebrated Illumination series, Talisman X-ray Blue (Torso) merges faith and science.
Drawing inspiration from the Islamic arts of the book, Mater employs materials such as gold leaf, tea, pomegranate, and coffee, traditionally used in Islamic manuscripts. Typically an intimate art form, Mater expands the scale of the illuminated page by incorporating human X-rays, creating a new sense of intimacy.
Lightning Land
This piece depicts a massive lightning bolt striking the desert landscape, with an oil field on one side and a Bedouin tent on the other. Through this dramatic flash of force, Mater highlights the tensions between past and future, tradition and innovation, heritage and globalisation, and their impact on both individual and societal levels.
Evolution of Man
One of Mater’s iconic works, Evolution of Man comments on the rapid changes in Saudi Arabia since the discovery of oil in 1938.
This work illustrates the transformation of the Kingdom’s economic, political, social, and religious landscape. The image of a gas pump morphing into a man with a gun to his head serves as a stark warning about the environmental risks, social disruptions, and potential cycles of destruction.
Dr Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie’s Middle East & Africa, remarks, “It is an extraordinary privilege to present an odyssey into Ahmed Mater’s visionary practice. This retrospective, the first mid-career exhibition dedicated to one of the leading cultural voices of the Middle East, invites us to rethink urban and natural environments, unearth hidden histories, envision potential futures, and ponder profound beliefs. Mater’s artistic responses to the rapid transformations within Saudi Arabia’s complex social and cultural context encourage us to discover fascinating narratives of an evolving land and reflect on its multifaceted identity.”
Ahmed Mater comments, “It is a great honour to present my artistic journey at Christie’s historic headquarters in London this summer. It is especially poignant for me to exhibit in London, almost 20 years after the first presentation of my work outside Saudi Arabia at the British Museum in 2005. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to reconnect with the city and its dynamic art community through this immersive and comprehensive exhibition of my practice. I have witnessed Christie’s dedication over the years to promote art from the region. It is a distinction to be aligned in this respect, fostering educational and cross-cultural dialogue.”
Exhibition Partners and Supporters
Works on loan for the exhibition are courtesy of Ahmed Mater’s studio (Saudi Arabia); Wadi AlFann, Valley of the Arts, Royal Commission for AlUla (Saudi Arabia); Royal Commission for AlUla Contemporary Art Collection (Saudi Arabia); Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, DAF (Lebanon); Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah, U.A.E.); Athr Gallery (Saudi Arabia); and private collections.
Christie’s and Ahmed Mater extend their gratitude to Wadi AlFann, AlUla, for their contribution to this exhibition. They also thank supporting partners Athr Foundation, Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF), SUR Multi-Family Office, and The Tamer Family Foundation. Christie’s acknowledges the support of The Visual Arts Commission, Saudi Arabia, for the exhibition publication.
Conclusion
The retrospective Ahmed Mater: Chronicles at Christie’s London headquarters is a significant event in the art world. It not only celebrates the remarkable career of Ahmed Mater but also offers a deep dive into the evolving cultural and social landscapes of Saudi Arabia.
This exhibition is a must-see for those interested in contemporary art and the dynamic changes within the Middle East.
Images: Christie’s
