LONDON— Megacollector and trendsetter Charles Saatchi has purchased three paintings from the Middle East, leading some to speculate that he's planning a show of emerging artists from the region for his new central London gallery, reports the Independent.

Saatchi recently acquired a diptych by Iranian painter Rokni Haerizadeh called Typical Iranian Wedding and two large-scale, semi-figurative paintings by Iraqi-born, U.S.-based Ahmed Alsoudani. The works were brought to Saatchi's attention by dealers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"One of the more unlikely places you expect to find a thrilling new artist would be Iran, but I was struck by this compelling picture of an Iranian wedding," Saatchi said. "I don't know if this will eventually lead to a full-blown survey of contemporary Arab art, though I am also rather interested by a young Iraqi artist, and if we find a few others over the next year or so who knows?"