2023-10-27 03:50:00
My joy was great and my happiness with Muhammad Al-Saleem and his artistic history knew no bounds. I was recalling history, age and friendship when I read the news of the sale of one of his works at the recent Sotheby’s auction. His painting was without competition and swept everything, and we were pleased with this material, artistic and historical value of our great artist Al-Saleem.
– I also experienced a range of events and incidents and the great effort that Al-Saleem made to sell some of his works when he held an exhibition that he brought to the Eastern Province, Bahrain, and some GCC countries. He carried his works in his car, drove around, and presented them as the most beautiful offerings to societies for whom art was still a secondary matter. Al-Saleem An authentic, struggling artist who did not succumb to any financial or moral pressures. When I got to know him, he was in the brilliance of his influence and the role he played in the arena when he established the Saudi Arts House, from which my fellow artists and I bought the finest brands that he brought from Italy, and then he established the International Arts Hall, which was launched over the years. There were few local and joint exhibitions. When the hall was opened to resident Arab and foreign artists, competitions were held, and senior media officials and youth attended to open the exhibitions and support the art. Those who follow Muhammad Al-Salim’s career will notice the amount of originality that he emphasized in his works, writings, and publications. It was the environment of times that was first influenced by his works. Then he opened up to the Kingdom’s environment in its various aspects, drawing deserts, spring seasons, and the transformations the country witnessed when he painted the new plan, as if he was anticipating a major renaissance for our country.
– I was one of the first keen to participate in the exhibitions of Al-Salim Gallery, which he called the International, alongside fellow artists from some cities of the Kingdom. Al-Salim joined the Friends of Gulf Fine Arts in the year 1985 when we invited him to join, and since that date we have had a strong friendship. The friends accepted our participation together and our presence as representatives of the Kingdom in the week. Saudi Cultural Center in Algeria 1984. Al-Salim’s works during most of the stages of his life were those that put the environment, local nature, and social appearance as a façade through which he presented himself and his art. He emphasized that the artistic painting should have its own identity, character, and spiritual values. He wrote many articles and entered into dialogues with some of his fellow artists, but he was in all aspects. He puts the local identity and personality at the forefront. His presence and influence on a number of the Kingdom’s artists continued, as was his ability to continue in most of the circumstances he went through. When he decided to leave for Italy, the place of his artistic studies, he communicated with me and some fellow artists. He sent invitations to participate in some Italian exhibitions. He also used to bake me bread by setting up his own studio in his small apartment. He also sent me some private pictures of the studio and its equipment. Al-Salim preserved the characteristics of his artistic experience, its personality, and its growing form. His colors reflected the desert, and his surfaces and linear and color horizons saturated the place with authenticity and difference.
Now, more than 25 years following Al-Salim’s passing, and with a history full of giving and excellence, his works find their rightful place in international auctions. This distinction and the material and moral value of Al-Salim’s work is a value he adds to Saudi art, which he has always defended and presented according to his vision of its originality and expression of culture, beauty, and privacy. May God have mercy on Muhammad Al-Salim, he was great during his life and following his death.
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