Christies International Modern and Contemporary Art Auction | Dubai

29 April 2009

Modern & Contemporary Arab, Iranian & Turkish Art has over the last three years become an established category on the international auction circuit. Pioneering artists from all over the Middle East region are represented in Christie’s auctions, many being showcased for the first time on the international art market platform.

Gharem's Concrete was auctioned at the April 2009 Dubai Sale. His work Concrete, from the series Restored Behaviour consists of an enormous rubber-stamp which features Arabic words concerned with the reformation of behaviour. Exploring notions of intervention and judgement, Gharem takes control with his own stamp, ready to approve or disapprove. The present work comprises 87,151 rubber stamps of which 76,032 are Arabic letters; 7,920 Arabic numbers, 3,170 are numerical functions and symbols, and 29 are English letters. A comparable piece was exhibited in Edge of Arabia at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, October 2008.