Abdullah Qandeel’s art: A thing of beauty, a joy forever

In turn, Saudi Arabia is making way for him. Aside from his affluent international collectors, his art has captured the attention of Saudi royalty. He fondly recounts an inspirational moment in Madinah at the British Museum exhibit, when the governor of Madinah, Prince Faisal bin Salman, an avid supporter of Saudi art, shook his hand and praised him. During the 2012 celebration of the Saudi National Day in New York, the Saudi mission to the United Nations selected Qandeel to put on a display of his art. At this event, one of his pieces, “Kingdom of Love” was presented to the United States ambassador to the United Nations by the Saudi government. Qandeel explains that his art has granted him access to leaders and decision makers in Saudi Arabia. His personal interaction with these leaders has exposed the beautiful vision they hold for Saudi Arabia and its future. Subsequently, this vision motivates and fuels his love for Saudi Arabia.
Qandeel first recalls the emergence of his artistic expression at the early age of four. From a young age he realized that in order to compete in this world, he could use art. In the first grade, he used this manner of expression to seek attention and differentiate himself from other students. Even paper airplanes that children typically fold and play with were an opportunity for him to perfect and create with intricate details. With his newfound creativity and elaborate airplanes, he was able to raise the most money in his class for a school charity event. The significance of this anecdote shows that inventiveness and imagination have always been on Qandeel’s side and explains his accomplishments and critical acclaim. With the awareness that he was an artist at such a young age, came the realization that was not acceptable to be such in Saudi Arabian society at that time.
As a member of Saudi society, Qandeel understood that in order to become worthy as an artist in his homeland, he must seek respect and success in the most difficult of markets first. He attributes this to what he identifies as import culture. “We have an import culture here, so it is about creating the trend externally,” he explains. He adds by asserting: “I understood that it’s important to be recognized and respected outside first, and then people will acknowledge me at home, and that’s what I did by basing myself in New York for four years.”
Qandeel’s current client list includes a long list of international and Saudi movers and shakers. The collectors range from members of the Saudi royal family such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, leading Saudi businessmen such as Khaled Al-Juffali, and celebrities such as Adrian Grenier. His work is displayed in the Muhling Museum, which is the largest private contemporary art collection in Germany. Although Qandeel’s work has been showcased and collected in countries in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, what sets him apart from other young artists is the fact that he is one of the most expensive living Saudi painters at the age of 26; painter, not conceptual artist, not photographer, and not installation artist. When he was 24, a piece he created was sold by one of his clients at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction in Doha called “The Failure” in April 2013 for $57,500. “The Failure” was only estimated at a cost ranging from $12,000 to $18,000. This year, another Qandeel piece was sold at Sotheby’s for 10 times the estimated cost. The piece “The Enemy Within,” sold for a whopping $209,000 when it was estimated to cost $20,000 to $30,000. Five bidders in 2013 and seven bidders this year represent the demand for Qandeel’s work and vision. In fact, the successful results of 2013 and 2014 led to almost $12 million in sales combined and represent an emerging demand for contemporary art in the region. According to Sotheby’s, the latest auction in Doha culminated in record prices for 13 artists.
According to Qandeel, there are many external elements that have contributed to his journeys and successes. First and foremost he thanks God for his success. Secondly, Qandeel considers his family another contributing factor to his success. Specifically, he credits his grandfather and parents who provided constant encouragement and inspiration. Their support humbles him by putting his life in to perspective and prevents him from giving into selfish desires. Also, he credits multiculturalism as shaping him as an artist. He believes that he is a product of what he has been exposed to. Although he was born in Jeddah, he lived most of his early life in the United Kingdom and the United States, before coming back to Saudi Arabia as an adult.
Moreover, the internal components that have molded him are confidence, believing in trial and error, and finally perseverance. Qandeel considers these as the traits that make up a successful artist. Although this combination has provided him with a recipe for success, he has faced many challenges on his journey. “I have failed many times, I have been rejected many times, it’s all fun,” he explains. However, failure only motivates him to continue and drives his determination, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Qandeel believes Saudi art as a whole is in its early stages of development; and this fact in itself makes it unique. When asked about his take on the Saudi art scene, he declared, “It has arrived.” Although Saudi art is flourishing, “People still neglect the immense investment needed to create the global benchmark in art, with the rich pool of creativity as well as the very young population all we have to do is believe in people and let them be who they truly are provided the fundamental education is placed.”
His explanation is that everybody is an artist, but with different mediums. The way to perfect the medium and create art is through education and a free mind, “We are all born the same, and it is not that my hand can execute something differently, it is what’s inside the mind.” He goes on further to emphasize that the message conveyed in art is more important than the medium.
As a person who grew up in a society where he felt it was “not OK to be an artist,” Qandeel strives to fulfill his mission of making art more widespread and important in Saudi society. In fact, it is his driving force. While he concedes that most people devise a five-year plan or even a ten-year plan, he has an immensely ambitious 100-year plan. He hopes to leave a significant enough impact on Saudi, which will allow being an artist to be as profound as being a doctor. “Being an artist is directly connected to social development, being a doctor is directly connected to sustaining the lives of social developers. And we as a population need to develop faster.”
Although Qandeel found places to flourish outside of his homeland, he is aware that today’s world periodically looks unfavorably toward Arabs. He purposely sought to establish himself in a challenging situation in order to rectify bigoted and unjust perceptions of Arabs and the Arab world. He strives “to create awareness around the globe that there is a force of cultural beauty that we would like to share with others. Furthermore, he explains, “It is within our culture to be very welcoming and hospitable to all external cultures.”
On Halloween night of this year, Qandeel decided to extend his hospitality to guests he was entertaining at the 6 Columbus, a hotel in Manhattan. Qandeel was celebrating his latest record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s with friends and celebrities. His guests were curious for him to demonstrate his craft, and he cordially consented. The result was a boldly vast mural and Qandeel spending a night in jail as he was charged with vandalism by the state of New York. The irony of being charged with vandalism is not lost on Qandeel. The very word comes from the name of an East Germanic tribe, the Vandals, who were believed to have terrorized and wreaked havoc in Europe during the 5th century. Destroying art is attributed to Vandal like behavior, thus the term “vandalism.” In his case, the creation of his art secured Qandeel charges of vandalism.
Despite criticism or praise, he believes the outcome was positive, “There is almost a rhetoric flowing around the globe against Arabs, that we are terrorists. I did not get arrested for terrorism; I got arrested for creating art.” Abdullah Qandeel continues to assert himself on the international and Saudi art scenes with passion and determination. He is currently building a new concept studio in Jeddah with an estimated completion date of mid March 2015. If you had not heard of him before, you have now. Would he repeat the Halloween night celebratory mural? He gives a definitive “no comment.”
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