If you’re looking to start an art collection in Abu Dhabi, tread very carefully. With the city poised to become the cultural hub of the Middle East, it’s only a matter of time before the swindlers descend, eager to clean up in a town where art looks set to become the status symbol du jour.
Marc Laurenti, owner and operator of Paris Abu Dhabi gallery, we’re pleased to say, couldn’t less resemble one of these shady, transient characters. For starters, the Frenchman has been living in Abu Dhabi for 31 years. He’s shaken the hand of Sheikh Zayed (‘his eyes are bright and look straight into your soul’), seen the skyscrapers rise out of the sand and says he has albums full of pre-boom photographs of the city that would make our jaws drop.
Somewhat strangely, then, Marc’s Khalidiyah-based gallery, which opened in 2008, remains relatively unknown to the capital’s culture devotees. Aside from two annual open evenings, scheduled to coincide with Art Dubai (which took place earlier this month) and Art Abu Dhabi in November, Paris Abu Dhabi is open by appointment only. Which, given the calibre of the artwork spread out across Marc’s Corniche apartment, seems almost criminal.
One wall includes an original lithograph by Pablo Picasso, while in the hallway, perched casually next to the phone, is one of Damien Hirst’s jewel-studded skulls. During our visit we also find out that we missed a rare table built by Georges Braque – the French painter who, along with Picasso, is widely credited as one of the founders of cubism – by a matter of days, thanks to the eagerness of one of the gallery’s latest customers.
Not that Marc’s objective is simply head-hunting the A-listers – regionally acclaimed artists take up just as much wall space, most notably work by Iran’s Massoud Arabshahi.
So if famous names aren’t top of the agenda, what is? ‘You don’t just buy a painting, you buy the full history! The more interesting the artist’s life, the more interesting and the more valuable the painting.’
As it turns out, this fascination with narratives goes beyond paint and canvas. Marc’s pride and joy (or so we assume from the way he excitedly unlocks the glass cabinet in which it’s stored and gingerly lifts the lid on its protective box) is an ancient and well-travelled Quran, which, estimated to be almost a thousand years old, is certified as the twelfth oldest in the world. ‘It was created by a world famous calligrapher in Baghdad,’ Marc tells us, recounting every word with relish despite having clearly told the story many, many times. ‘Years later it was moved to Egypt, where it was left in storage. Many more years later – after it had almost been thrown out – the person who found it passed it on to a charity, who sold it at a market. An art lover picked it up and later discovered its true value.’
Enrapt as Marc clearly is by the intricate, classical craftsmanship displayed on the book’s leather binding and each of its pages, it seems he’s happy to exist as a small part in the book’s wider narrative. After all, no art dealer with ambitions can afford to get too attached to his wares. ‘I believe I’m just a humble guardian, that this masterpiece should go back to its roots, back to an Islamic owner. It’s my duty to pass it on.’
This is perhaps the biggest sign of all of how unlike those fly-by-night dealers currently descending on the city Marc’s operation is. ‘I am a builder, I like to erect things to leave for the future generations – like Sheikh Zayed.’ Eyes wide and arms animated, the passion with which the Frenchman now addresses his cause couldn’t be more apparent. ‘We are not eternal. One day we will pass into the other world, so what are we going to leave behind? I want to leave something beautiful.’
Paris Abu Dhabi is open by appointment only (02 635 9194)
