Lot 143: NABIL NAHAS (LEBANESE, B. 1949) Untitled signed twice and dated twice ‘N.R.

NABIL NAHAS (LEBANESE, B. 1949) Untitled signed twice and dated twice ‘N.R. NAHAS-87 Nahas.87’ (on the reverse) oil and metallic pigment on canvas 62 x 120¿ x 2 3/4 in. (157.5 x 305 x 7cm.) Painted in 1987

PROVENANCE: Holly Solomon Gallery, New York. Private Collection, USA. Anon. sale, Sotheby’s New York, 10 June 2015, lot 377. Acquired at the above sale by the present owner. ‘Hints of architectural form emerge and then fade, as the sheer brilliance of Nahas’s technique reasserts itself and then gives way to evocations of storms and ruin and even war.’ (C. Radclif, Nabil Nahas, New York 2012, p. 138). Christie’s is delighted to present this shimmering abstract landscape by Lebanese/American master Nabil Nahas. This one of a kind example, part of the artist’s black-and-gold paintings series implemented in the 1980s, is gracefully executed, implementing an asymmetrical third dimension that seamlessly expands into infnity. Large and impressive in scale and monumentality, Nahas brilliantly works the surface of the canvas with the precious metal to create a golden light. A sleekly wide composition, the painting seems to ficker with beauty, whilst a protruding canvas creates engaging shadows that expand and stretch across the underlying support. The evolution and change of Nahas’s techniques over the years often refect his personal development. After focusing on black paintings towards the late 1970s and early 1980s, Nahas started incorporating more and more gold into his works in the late whereby his inclusion of gold leaf on the canvas highlights the more sophisticated qualities of his technique. This rich sense of ornamentation and artifce references Nahas’ Middle Eastern background and in particular the amalgamation of cultural heritage including that Phoenician, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamlouk and Ottoman styles that is prevalent in Lebanese history. Referencing the past, Nahas can thus be seen to add a metaphorical interpretation of the relentless Lebanese Civil War during 1987 – his inclusion of gold over a dark background thus hints at a possible glimmer of hope that can gild the darkness of war, evoking a visceral reaction that equally harkens back to the energy of high abstract expressionism in the early post-war period in the US. The present work realised with a painterly gesture and thick brushstroke carries depth resulting in an agreeable tactile quality. Nahas spectacularly goes beyond the confnes of the frame in this work and the luminosity is emphasised by the impression of deepness created through the subtle nuances of black and gold that transcend the work, therefore pushing the viewer to oscillate between a state of dark drama and a state of resplendent glory.