Meet the Specialist

What do you do at Bonhams?

I am a Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art specialist based in New Bond Street, London, where we hold two live auctions and two online-only auctions per year. Our next online auctions are running from 18 February until 10 March: Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art and New Day · New Wave, an online sale curated by Fereydoun Ave.

Where are you from? And what inspired you to go into the art world? 

I am half Libyan, half Iranian, and was born and bred in Abu Dhabi. Living in a multicultural society immensely broadened my knowledge and appreciation for the various crossroads of art and culture. I attended a British school in Abu Dhabi, and I had wonderful art mentors who truly inspired me – and amazing parents that encouraged me to pursue art. I studied Art & Design at the renowned Chelsea College of Art & Design in London, where I also went on to do my bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. This, along with interest in attending art galleries, museums, and fairs, inspired me to pursue a career in the art world.

What was your first job? 

My first job after university was working for a non-profit organisation based in London called MOP Foundation, which promotes Iranian contemporary art and culture. I contributed to the set-up of their fundraising events and I was involved in their charity auctions in London, Dubai and Los Angeles. I also participated in setting up panel discussions at the British Museum and LACMA and art exhibitions at the Edge of Arabia and the Royal College of Arts. After this experience, I started at Bonhams in 2016 as a Junior Cataloguer for Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, where I've progressed to Specialist in the same department today.

 Name one of your triumphs.

Our department performed extremely well in 2020 and had our most successful year to date. We delivered two very successful live auctions “behind closed doors” and a strong online-only auction. We achieved numerous artist world records and an outstanding result for Mahmoud Said, Le Chômeur (The Vagabond) which sold for £1,222,750, triple its low estimate and setting the record for the highest selling Arab artwork at auction since 2010. Strong teamwork and communication were key to emerging from the first year of the pandemic triumphantly!

What has changed in the business since you first started? 

Our mid-season, online-only auctions have been a great success since launching at the end of 2017. Targeting more accessible, entry-level artworks, the online sales have given an opportunity for newer, emerging artists to participate in our auctions. As well as this, it gives us greater reach to form a large client network online, where purchasing an artwork seems far less intimidating and more accessible. This has had a great effect in drawing new clients that may have never participated in an auction before.

What is your strength as a specialist? 

I am trilingual and the only person in the company that speaks Arabic. Being Arab and Iranian and growing up in a cosmopolitan society has allowed me to communicate and connect seamlessly with both my Middle Eastern and Western clients.

What’s exciting you about your next sale?

We have an exciting online auction coming up called New Day, New Wave: curated by Fereydoun Ave. The sale features artworks by unseen and underexposed talent from Iran. The curator, Fereydoun Ave, is at the forefront of the Iranian art scene and is one of Iran’s most acclaimed artists and patrons who has spent the last four decades championing Iranian artists. We are delighted to work with Fereydoun in offering some astounding works by a generation of artists living and working in Iran today, who do not necessarily enjoy the same freedom and access to an international audience that their predecessors had in the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside this exciting sale, we will also be hosting our regular, mid-season online sale of Middle Eastern Art from 18 February - 9 March 2021.

Do you have a hidden talent? 

I have green fingers! I picked up gardening during the first lockdown and have successfully looked after over 40 plants since.

Which work of art has changed your life? 

Saloua Raouda Choucair's monumental sculpture entitled Poem in Four Verses at the American University of Beirut campus has definitely left a lasting impression on me. Solid, robust and imposing, the sculpture is 2.7 meters tall and weighs seven tonnes and is comprised of four individual blocks of local stone known as testa. I am fascinated by her elegant use of modular and curvaceous forms borrowed from traditions of Islamic design and Arabic poetry. It is also worth noting that she is one of the very few female artists to have had a retrospective at the Tate Modern!

Noor Soussi is a Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art specialist based in London. She can be reached at noor.soussi@bonhams.com