Lot 26: Untitled

Abdel Kader Arnaout (Syrian 1936-1992)
Untitled
signed and dated in Arabic (lower left)
glue and painted rattan on canvas
35¼ x 24in. (90 x 59.5cm.)
Executed in 1987

As a point of departure Arnaout took Islamic motifs, but later developed them into his own visual language. By the 1980s he began to use found objects such as mosaic pieces taken directly from Syrian craftsmen, and would experiment with unusual materials used in furniture and other everyday objects. In this piece the woven rattan is taken from a chair, of a type commonly found in every cafe or school classroom, is mounted on canvas, becoming the centrepiece of this composition. In so doing Arnaout celebrates the creative process behind the craft as well as the intrinsic beauty of the ordinary object.
Arnaout was one of the first artists in Syria to use such mixed media techniques in his work.