Suad Al -Attar, Myths and Reflections, London, 2002, n.p. (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
I said ‘Who are you?’ She answered: ‘I am one emaciated by passion Worn by sorrow, And my heart is destroyed by grief’…
By UMAR IBN RABIA (643 – 719 Mecca)
The subject of ‘the couple’ emerged in my work over a decade ago and since that time it has both developed and progressed. Thus I look upon this painting as the culmination of a steady and ongoing evolution in this theme, and also consider it one of my best works from my private collection. In my portrayal of the human, I seek to explore the inner humanity of men and women, both within themselves and also between each other. This relationship is discreet, it is kind and gentle; an invitation to meditate rather than a summons to debate. With this painting I chose to give emphasis to several important elements, such as the technique with which the paint is applied. Here I applied the paint in countless thin layers, later scraping them away and then once more painting films of paint onto the surface. I carry out this method with the aim of finding the ultimate shape and the ultimate colour – the perfect contrast between the light sun-faces against the dark, acknowledging the work of da Vinci, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. With great respect to my mythical past and present and simultaneously in recognition of the contemporary, I tried to express a vision through intensities, where dreams and reality combine together with poetic meaning, a meaning that expresses a private vocabulary. (Suad Al-Attar)
How many tears we shed the night we parted, Excusing our own sorrow by saying ‘It’s only the rain.’ I see your eyes Which seem to float with the pain, The stars drawn in a mist of sorrow, In the warmth of winter, the chill of autumn, Embracing death and birth and darkness and light, The shiver of a sob wakens in my soul.
Phillips de Pury & Company would like to thank Suad Al-Attar for compiling the catalogue essay