ART DIARIES
“To put things into perspective and in a way of comparison:
The discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia occurred in 1938, while Picasso had already painted the Guernica and the Blue Period”.
- Basma Al Sulaiman
Jeddah, 1960’s
“The first piece of art I fell in love with was a work by the Saudi artist Safeya Binzagr. I was about nine years old.
I was at an exhibition of hers with my mother, and I would not move from that painting until my mother bought it.”
Safeya Binzagr - Untitled, Circa 1960s (Detail)
New York, 1990’s
“The first work I bought was in New York in the early 90s, without any background or knowledge of the artist; I simply fell in love with the image!
It turned out to be David Hockney’s “Caribbean Tea Time” which I later found out the TATE had acquired around the same time.”
David Hockney - Caribbean Tea Time, 1987
Beijing, 2000’s
“Learning about different cultures through art is my way to learn about people: their ways of thinking, their challenges.
I lived in China in the early 2000s following the Cultural Revolution, which was a very interesting period.
The local art scene was fresh, it was human, it was real.”
Zeng Fanzhi - A Gentleman, 1997 | LEFT
Hang Xiaogang - Comrade No.4 From the Bloodline, Big Family series, 1995 | RIGHT
Venice, 2007
“I first discovered El Anatsui’s work during the exhibition “Africa Remix” in 2005 at the Hayward Gallery.
When I saw his installation in Venice two years later, I knew I had to get him for the collection.
I was lucky to get a piece from “Fresh and Fading Memories”, his magnificent installation at Palazzo Fortuny.”
Palazzo Fortuny draped by El Anatsui’s installation “Fresh and Fading Memories”
- during the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007
Vallauris, 2015
“Visiting Madoura with Alain Ramié, the son of the owners of the ceramic workshop Picasso collaborated with for 25 years in Vallauris, was like visiting the tavern of Ali Baba. I still remember my excitement when he told me to choose whatever I want…
Picasso’s collaboration with the Madoura workshop inspired my family and I to start a collection of these ceramics which began in 2015 and is still ongoing.”
Pablo Picasso - Grand Vase Pékiné (Big Candy-Striped Vase), 1956 Edition 17/25
AlUla, 2022
“When I saw this monumental installation in the inaugural Saudi pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011, I remember feeling so proud that a piece of such magnitude was presented by a Saudi artist.
It was a pivotal moment for Saudi contemporary art on a major global platform.
I acquired it a year later without knowing back then where I would even display it, but I knew we had to preserve this piece given its importance.
After having been exhibited in Paris in 2015 the Black Arch was finally displayed in the Kingdom in 2022 for the first time.”
Shadia and Raja Alem - The Black Arch, 2011-2022 (Detail)