Young Collectors Auction - exhibit-E

MouteeaMURAD1977Lot 050Signed, Dated29.7 X 21 cm. Charcoal on Paper 2003Estimate (US$ 1,000 - 2,000)Born in Homs, Syria in 1977, Mouteea Murad is a rising young artist whose recentexplorations into abstraction have set him apart within the contemporary Syrian art scene.A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts, his earlier works were monotone portraits thatspoke of human angst. Despite exhibitions throughout the Arab world and successfulsales from such compositions, Murad dramatically changed his artistic direction shortlybefore entering the “Shabab Ayyam” competition in 2007. Since then he has been buildingupon a foundation that engages influential modernist movements such as the RussianConstructivists, Abstract Expressionism and Geometric Abstraction. He has also soughtto interact with aesthetics that have held immense significance to Arab art, as he is anadmirer of the late Syrian painter Mustapha Fathi.Carving out a significant place for himself amongst these regional greats, Murad isbecoming a favorite among international art lovers with his paintings housed in collectionsin Lebanon, Jordan, France, Switzerland, the US, China and “the Jordan National Galleryof Fine Arts”.The artist’s vibrant canvases are informed by the linear and horizontal division of spatialplanes, as various geometric shapes emerge from elaborate partitions. Pulsating with vividcubist forms, each line is vastly different from the next. Yet Murad is confident in his boldsense of design and clever manipulation of color. The result is a geometric mosaic in whichsquares, triangles and circles intersect, overlap and collapse upon each other, recalling theabstract ingenuity of American painter Stuart Davis with the youthful spirit and vitality ofSwiss painter Paul Klee.