

Charles Al Sidaoui
Charles Al Sidaoui is a renowned art collector celebrated for his expertise in Middle Eastern art and culture.
His passion for the region’s artistic heritage is reflected in The Yes Collection, a world-renowned compilation that highlights the depth and diversity of contemporary art.
Charles Al Sidaoui has been an art collector since 2007, and after almost 14 years, his collection has grown to house more than 140 works.
Al Sidaoui focuses on modern and contemporary artworks from all over the world and describes his collection as international in its approach.
His collection includes artists from more than 20 different countries. Selected pieces from his Yes Collection, which exceeds 150 artworks, are currently on show as part of The Arts Club’s new biannual Stairway Exhibits.
The exhibition Where Gesture Meets Story – Recent Art From the Yes Collection focuses on 18 contemporary regional and international artworks, across diverse styles.
Collectors come in all shapes and sizes but for sheer positivity, few are as emphatically affirmative as Lebanese-born Dubai resident, and businessman Charles Al Sidaoui. The man behind The Yes Collection, on view in a selling exhibition at Sotheby’s Dubai office running until 7th July, Al Sidaoui is a passionate collector of art from around the world, spanning eras, categories, and media. And – yes – this is an unambiguously positive celebration of art, from the collector down, Al Sidaoui even identifies the word ‘yes’ four times in his own name: ‘In Italian and Spanish –Si,’ he writes in a guide to his collection. ‘Russian – Da. French – Oui.’
And the collection’s unifying aspect? A ‘coup-de-coeur’, Al Sidaoui says. Each piece was acquired after sparking a powerful emotional bond and having once gained admittance to the Al Sidaoui collection, works were juxtaposed with selected companions to draw out common themes or intriguing contrasts. Thus we find, at the Al Sidaoui home, where the collector regularly welcomes friends, and fellow collectors and organizes group tours to enjoy the collection, artworks hanging in active dialogue with each other, side by side, irrespective of origin or era.
Another defining trait of Al Sidaoui’s collection is his committed, internationalist approach. He began his collecting journey on a business trip to Paris 15 years ago, purchasing a landscape painting on a whim. It’s like catching a bug, he says today, of the consequent, deepening passion to collect. To date, he has acquired 160 pieces including artists ranging from American Pop icon Roy Lichtenstein to late Syrian figurative painter Louay Kayyali, Dutch painter Karel Appel to Syrian-born multimedia artist Diana Al Hadid.
This June, Charles Al Sidaoui is presenting a tightly-curated exhibition of 11 works from The Yes Collection for sale at Sotheby’s DIFC exhibition space in Dubai, a grouping that, echoing his displays at home, brings artworks together in unprecedented narratives, drawing out their inner stories, emphasizing common themes and celebrating the magic and power of their creative force.