Saudi art world honors legacy of Abdulhalim Radwi

In 2002, King Salman visited Radwi (right)’s personal exhibition in Spain. (Supplied)

• Glittering tribute night in Jeddah salutes memory of sculptor who founded Kingdom’s modern art scene

JEDDAH: The life and legacy of the late Saudi artist and sculptor Abdulhalim Radwi have been saluted at a glittering tribute night in Jeddah.
Family, friends, colleagues, fellow artists, and leading figures from the art world gathered to honor the founder of Saudi modern art, who died in 2006 but continues to inspire artists today.
The event, hosted by the artist’s daughter Dr. Maha Radwi in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, featured an exhibition and documentary film showcasing his life and career.
“While our hearts remain heavy over the passing of my father, his legacy lives on,” Radwi said. “One of the things that we’re trying to talk about is not just the wonderful pieces he made over his lifetime, but his humanity.”
Society president Mohammed Al-Subaih said: “Art was a big part of his life, and we wanted to memorialize his legacy as much as possible. He’s someone that deserves to be remembered because he is a significant figure in Saudi art history.”
Radwi was born in Makkah in 1939. His mother, a painter, nurtured his young talent and encouraged him to pursue art.
In the mid-1950s he won his first official painting competition while at high school, and in 1961 traveled to Rome to study fine arts. He returned to the Kingdom as an art teacher in Riyadh.
From 1968 to 1974 was director of the Jeddah center for fine arts, later overseeing the city’s culture and arts scene between 1980 and 1992.