The Makkah-born artist — widely considered to be one of the most significant in the Kingdom’s modern art movement — created this “monumental canvas” in 1989 — “a moment of profound optimism surrounding the possibilities of technological advancement and scientific exploration the collective imagination of the Arab world,” according to show notes from Christie’s. “This sense of optimism was particularly resonant in Saudi Arabia following Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud’s journey into space in 1985, as the first Arab and Muslim astronaut in history. His achievement became a powerful symbol of national progress and modernization, while the mission’s inclusion of the Arabsat-1B communications satellite gave the journey particular significance within the wider history of Arab scientific achievement.” Radwi responded to all this with a painting that manages to “evoke movement, exploration and explansion” through “symbolic imagery, chromatic experimentation and complex geometric layering of orbital and circular lines.” That imagery includes a dove — a recurring theme throughout Radwi’s work — and the abstract “planetary rings” that “invite an association with” tawaf — the pilgrims’ circumambulation of the Kaaba during Hajj.
The notes continue: “A profound sense of transcendence and ethereality permeates the canvas.
