Inside Christie’s headquarters in the heart of the central St. James’s district of London are works of art that showcase a much different landscape than those amid the streets of the rest of the British capital. They are works that reference the modern transformation, heritage, and life of Saudi Arabia over the past three decades produced by Ahmed Mater, one of the kingdom’s most influential artists. In a global first, Christie’s auction house recently hosted a mid-career retrospective of Mater’s work: “Ahmed Mater: Chronicles,” nearly 20 years after the first presentation of the artist’s work at the British Museum in 2005. Curated by Ridha Moumni, chairman of Christie’s Middle East and Africa, the show reveals work in a variety of mediums –painting, photography, sculpture, video, and installation – that span Mater’s extensive career to date, from his first artistic experiments during his early years in Abha, Saudi Arabia to his latest projects. A former physician, Mater’s multifaceted oeuvre encompasses themes including globalization, Islamic faith and artistic heritage, the human body, and Saudi Arabia’s rapid period of socioeconomic transformation.

“Chronicles are a way to document and archive like this exhibition does through my art,” said Mater. “The exhibition will tell my story but will also aim to be a mediator to offer ways of understanding the transformation taking place in Saudi.” The exhibition, added Mater, will also serve as a “journey” – one that he believes might return to Saudi one day and travel to other places.

The work on show explores how Mater has long grappled with the rapidly changing social and cultural landscapes across the Arab world, especially Saudi Arabia’s transforming identity. “A huge change is taking place in Saudi Arabia,” said Mater. “Now art and culture have a big voice. Culture is one of the most well-funded sectors. I like the idea of art as a journey, like life, because you can sometimes see differences in time through art. You can see art reflect the momentum of change in Saudi Arabia, from the beginning when it was hidden to now when it is accepted from the public and the government.”

Mater was born in Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia and grew up in Abha in the southwest of the country. His father was a sergeant in the army, and his mother was a calligrapher and artist who, like other women in Rijal Almaa, where he grew up, would decorate the interior walls of their home with colorful traditional patterns in geometric shapes called Al-Qatt. Fascinated by his mother’s painting, after he trained as a doctor, he studied at Al-Meftaha Arts Village. It was there that he started using discarded X-rays from the local hospital to create his art in pieces such as the notable “Evolution of Man” (2010) in which an X-ray of a man holds a gun to his head and is then transformed into a gasoline pump.

At the end of June, Mater was appointed to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (French Order of Arts and Letters) as a chevalier for his lifelong contributions to building Saudi culture, contemporary arts, and the art world at large.

Highlights from the exhibition include Mater’s unseen early abstract paintings, his celebrated “Illumination” series from 2008 presenting X-rays of the human body on archival Arches paper, and important work from the “Desert of Pharan” project that, across hundreds of photographs and films, charts the rapid development of Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, a place in a constant state of transformation. The artist’s upcoming site-specific commission for Wadi AlFann, Al-Ula – “Ashab al-Lal” – takes center stage in the exhibition alongside work such as “Magnetism Book,” from Mater’s iconic 2012 “Magnetism” series, which will make its public debut. The works reveals crisp black and white renderings of the Holy Kaaba in Mecca offering visual renderings on the tensions surrounding faith and religion. Variations of the work were shown at the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Arab American National Museum in Detroit. Also on view is the painting “My Village” that Mater completed in 1995 when he was just 16 years old. The exhibition also includes a colorful mural work by his mother.

Crucially, the staging of the exhibition, which is entirely nonselling, at Christie’s headquarters in London, exemplifies how the auction house is increasingly using its platform to serve as a vehicle to promote art from the Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia – a country in the throes of major socioeconomic change and where the state is investing heavily in the development of its cultural scene. “An exhibition such as this one indicates the important role that an auction house plays for the art and artists of the Middle East,” said Moumni. “I see ourselves as a platform for artists from the region, especially during the summer months when we are not doing sales.” Moumni added, “We should not be confining the role of an auction house to only sales. I believe our role is much bigger in respect to the development of the Middle Eastern art scene. We are trying to contribute to the visibility of the scene on the global level.”

“Chronicles: Ahmed Mater” follows the largest exhibition of Arab art to have taken place in London, which was at Christie’s in 2023 – “Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World” – held in partnership with the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Culture and Youth and Sharjah’s Barjeel Art Foundation. Also, in London this August Sotheby’s is presenting “Hafla,” a series of selling and nonselling exhibitions, including loaned artwork and private sales from Sotheby’s comprising artwork, jewelry, food, fashion, and manuscripts from across the Middle East. On view until August 30, the show is the first of its kind and takes over the entirety of Sotheby’s London galleries and auction rooms.

Saudi Arabia also takes the spotlight at Sotheby’s with “Khamseen: 50 Years of Saudi Visual Arts,” a selling exhibition curated in collaboration with Qaswra Hafez, founder of Hafez Gallery in Jeddah. The exhibition presents over 50 works of art by artists including Mohammed Al Resayes, Abdulrahman Al Soliman, Abdulhalim Radwi, Safeya Binzagr, Faisal Samra, Dana Awartani, Mohammed Al Saleem, and Lulwah Al-Hamoud.

Since Sotheby’s officially opened its Dubai office in 2017, the auction house has expanded from a team of three permanent staff to 11. Additionally, Sotheby’s says it has witnessed a significant increase in activity from buyers and bidders from the region over the past five years. Collectors from the Middle East accounted for a record total spent in Sotheby’s auctions in 2023. In 2023, 43% of bidders from the Middle East and North Africa were transacting with Sotheby’s for the first time.

“I believe we’ve firmly established ourselves as one of the pillars for growth alongside the commercial galleries, the cultural institutions, and of course the art fairs in the United Arab Emirates,” stated Edward Gibbs, Sotheby’s chairman for the Middle East and India. “We pride ourselves on bringing international art to the region and, in turn, promoting regional art internationally. We have dedicated exhibitions of Middle Eastern and modern and contemporary arts alongside classical Islamic art.”

While both auction houses have been increasingly promoting work by Saudi artists, neither has yet to open a branch in Riyadh, though it appears to be only a matter of time. Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s have partnered with the Saudi Ministry of Culture in its recent exhibitions and initiatives. Christie’s collaborated with the 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, while Sotheby’s supported the Diriyah Islamic Biennale in 2023. In 2019, Christie’s raised $1.3 million in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture for a new heritage museum in Jeddah’s historical district. “I have been witnessing Christie’s dedication over the years to promote art from the region and it is a distinction to be aligned in this respect, and build an educational and cross-cultural dialogue,” said Mater in a statement.

While the local collector market in Saudi Arabia is still nascent, an increase in interest and sales from Saudi buyers over the last few years indicate growing potential in the Saudi secondary market. According to Sotheby’s, over the past five years the auction house has witnessed the number of market participants increase exponentially – a 74% increase in buyers and a 125% increase in bidders from 2019 to 2023. In 2023, more than 40% of bidders from Saudi Arabia were bidding at Sotheby’s for the first time, and nearly 50% of bidders from Saudi Arabia were under the age of 40.

Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s have long-held strong presences in Dubai from where they have sold Middle Eastern and North African art and now increasingly international art in the region to collectors in the Middle East and vice versa. Christie’s was the first international auction house to operate in the Middle East when it opened its Dubai office in 2005. At the time, there were very few operating commercial art galleries. Where art galleries usually cement robust private art sales in a certain art market before an auction house arrives, in Dubai, the opening of Christie’s established greater confidence in the Middle Eastern art market for local dealers and collectors. In 2007, Art Dubai launched. In 2017, Sotheby’s opened its Dubai gallery and staged its first auction in the city.

What does this growing attention of international auction houses on the Gulf art scene indicate about the role of the region in international and secondary art markets?

In early August, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ announced it had acquired a minority stake in Sotheby’s. Under this agreement, ADQ, together with Sotheby’s owner Patrick Drahi’s additional capital, will bring a total investment of approximately $1 billion to the house. The investment will support Sotheby’s growth and expansion into new markets, “establishing an even more robust presence in the Middle East,” the announcement stated. The move also supports Abu Dhabi’s ambition in arts and cultural development.

The growing attention of the international auction houses on the Gulf art scene also points to more vigorous forays in regional art education and in increasing the exposure of Gulf art internationally. “Education has been a very key component for us and something that we believe in very strongly, and I think we have contributed in a meaningful way to the region,” said Gibbs, noting the numerous talks, partnerships, and events the auction house has engaged with in the region.

The potential for the Saudi art market is also there. “Part of our role is also amplifying Saudi art internationally and ensuring that there’s more exposure of Saudi artists on the global stage. We are in conversation with global institutions, and we’ve already seen institutions like Guggenheim and Tate Modern take interest.” Gibbs added, “The appetite is there, and the liquidity is there. All that’s missing really is the educational component and additional opportunities, and I believe the auction houses and other players in the market can provide this. It’s all coming.”