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The Power of Saadiyat

November 19, 2009 by Marion Maneker

As the Abu Dhabi Art Fair opens, curator Jack Persekian explains the key element in the ascent of contemporary Middle Eastern art:

Jack Persekian“A friend of mine called me and said: ‘Jack, Guggenheim New York bought one of my pieces and it’s now in the collection’.”

Other artists came to the curator with similar stories. “It’s like, wow, what’s happening? All of a sudden the western world, let’s call it the centre of the contemporary art movement, all of a sudden is interested in buying and taking these artists into the main collections there. So there’s definitely a change in the attitudes.”

The cause, in Persekian’s view, is simple: Saadiyat. “It is such a magnet, and drew so much attention,” he says. “Saadiyat brought about such a tremendous polarity in terms of attracting or turning the attention of a lot of people to this part of the world, that the whole art movement and artists are now enjoying a much higher profile.”

Vision in a Minor Key (The National)

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Filed Under: Art Fairs

About Marion Maneker

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