For Marwan Kassab-Bachi, better known as Marwan, the human face was a landscape of emotion and existential depth.
His haunting, contorted visages were his signature – a rippling representation of the disquiet of living abroad. This summer, the third annual Arab Art Exhibition at Christie’s will spotlight the late Syrian painter, presenting works that chart his remarkable career, from the figurative works of the 1960s, a few years after he moved to Germany, to the enigmatic Marionette series and his idiosyncratic facial terrains.
Marwan: Soul in Exile will take place between July 16 and August 22 at Christie’s global headquarters in London. It brings together close to 200 works loaned by several top institutions from the Arab world, Europe and the US.
“We wanted to highlight one of the most fascinating artists coming from the Arab world,” says Ridha Moumni, chairman of Christie’s Middle East and Africa. “Marwan’s work is in several major institutions in the Middle East, but he is also one of the most sought-after Arab artists in the West. His works are held by several prestigious institutions, including the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and recently the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.”
This global recognition mirrors Marwan’s own life, which was marked by a constant dialogue between the Arab world and the West, deeply influencing his style and thematic concerns. While Marwan left his native Syria in 1957, travelling to Germany where he would live most of his life, he was inextricable from the Arab world. His works are often perceived as representations of life in exile, a yearning for wholeness as well as a devotion to a homeland rife with struggle.
“The idea is to really show the legacy of this artist who was living and working in Germany, but who was very important to the Arab world,” Moumni says. “His paintings describe the political situation of the Middle East, which touch upon his exile and life in Berlin. At the same time, he was able to display his work and voice to the region. He was an important mentor for a generation of artists, affecting their lives and their art. Among them are Said Baalbaki, Ayman Baalbaki and Serwan Baran, to name a few.”
Marwan sustained a steady artistic output until his death in 2016. He was the first artist from the Middle East to be accepted to the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, graduating from its department of painting in 1963. He worked with a quiet determination for years after, despite measured success. His practice was unencumbered even during the time he worked in a fur factory in Berlin between 1962 and 1970, painting some of his most recognisable works during this period, including The Husband (1966).
“We will be exhibiting the earliest works of Marwan,” Moumni says. “We will follow his career, showing works from key periods of his career. We will show the works he produced when he arrived in Germany and became an abstract painter. We will show the shift in his work during the 1960s and 1970s, when he became recognised as one of the greatest figures from a new generation of figurative painters in Germany. We will also be presenting works that he created in the 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s, until his death.”
Highlights will include works from Face Landscape, showing how the series – most of which was rendered in monochrome or with a restrained use of colour – went on to inform his famous Heads portraits of faces contorting vividly across a wide palette of hues.
“We will also exhibit important still life, lithographs and works on paper that were inspired by the collaborations he did with writers from the Arab world,” adds Moumni.
Marwan: Soul in Exile is the third iteration of Christie’s annual exhibition of Arab art in London. The inaugural Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World was held in 2023.
The exhibition marked London’s largest presentation of Arab art. It was divided into two segments. The first, Kawkaba – Arabic for constellation – brought 100 artworks from the Barjeel Art Foundation's collection, including luminaries such as Mohamed Melehi, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Inji Efflatoun, Simone Fattal, Menhat Helmy, Samia Osseiran Joumblatt and Mona Saudi.
The second section of the exhibition, Emirati Art Reimagined: Hassan Sharif and the Contemporary Voices, highlights the contributions of one UAE artist who was pivotal in establishing the contemporary and conceptual art scene of the country and wider region.
Last year, Christie’s held a mid-career retrospective of Ahmed Mater’s work. Entitled Ahmed Mater: Chronicles, the exhibition featured more than 100 works including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video and installation – giving a comprehensive overview of the diversity of the Saudi artist’s practice.
While the previous two exhibitions demanded a deft curatorial touch – particularly as they served as many Londoners’ first in-depth encounter with Arab art – that’s less the case with Marwan: Soul in Exile, Moumni says.
“Marwan’s works are extremely evocative,” Moumni adds. “They speak for themselves. They create a dialogue with the viewer that is strong. Simply seeing the work in person showcases the mastery of the artist. His art speaks to viewers no matter where they come from.
“Marwan remains one of the most fascinating artists of the 20th century,” Moumni adds. “He didn't get what he deserved during his life. This exhibition brings some of the most important works by Marwan in one place to give an opportunity for visitors to reconsider the career of an artist who struggled all his life to find his place in the West. He developed an artistic career in Europe but remained intellectually and emotionally connected to the Middle East. Marwan’s art represents an encounter of these two different cultures.”
