
Nima Sagharchi
Group Head
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Group Head
Provenance:
Property from a private collection, Oman
Formerly property from an important private collection, Syria
"Leaning Woman" is emblematic of Kayyali's deeply empathetic depictions of Syrian everyday life. Kayyali was a master of eliciting intense emotion from his solitary figures, depicting Isolated characters, despondent and occupied with the arduous business of survival against a social backdrop of war, conflict and civil strife.
Lethargy, melancholy and dejection permeate much of Kayyali's social-realist depictions . His powerful portrayals of ordinary people are characterized by simple, classical silhouettes and the absence of extraneous detail. His works are saturated by the natural hue and texture of masonry reflecting the tonal qualities of the Syria's desert climate, and, by unifying his figures within a common visual backdrop, he binds them in their predicament, reminding us that war and civil strife engender a sense of suffering which is as much communal as it is private.