HOME Lockdown 2020-22

MAYSALOUN

“Colour, is my language of love. In our darkest hours, the need for reassurance that humanity will prevail, becomes urgent.

So, here’s to changing the world, one colour at a time!”

MAYSALOUN

ISBN 978-0-9559586-1-8 (Maysaloun Faraj)

© Maysaloun Faraj 2022

This publication coincides with the artist’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Mark Hachem, Le Marais, Paris, June 2022.

Copyright for individual texts and images rest with the authors. The right of the contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form by any elec tronic mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system or otherwise without previous written permission by the publisher.

Front cover: The Blue Tulip (HOME 55) (detail) 29 October 2021, oil on canvas, 150x130cm. Back cover: view of the artist’s home, London.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Designed and pub lished by Maysaloun Faraj 2022. Printed in London by Pureprint Group (pureprint.com).

www.mfaraj.com info@mfaraj.com @maysalounfaraj

MAYSALOUN

CONTENTS

Dedication Contents

in Paris

Mark Hachem

No Place Like Home: A Light Within

HOME: Fragile Bricks of a Metaphor

HOME: Narratives

Maysaloun Faraj

Shakir Mustafa

Shakir Mustafa

HOME: Work on Paper (Continued)

HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

Friends Near and Far - Art Collectors and Patrons Homelands

Art Studio

HOME: Work on Paper (Continued)

HOME: Oil on Canvas

and Thoughts

Contributors’ Biographies

Biography

The Artist’s HOME (A View)

Mark Hachem

RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS

Galerie Mark Hachem is delighted to announce the representation of Maysaloun Faraj and excited to stage the artist’s first solo exhibition in Paris titled ‘HOME Lockdown 2020-22’, set for June 2022. In this latest series of paintings, Faraj creates intimate drawings of her own home, made during the pandemic lockdowns, as a visual memoir marking a pivotal moment in world history from a personal point of view. She works in a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpture. Amid an aesthetic informed by architectural discipline is a complex web of references, bridging east and west, ancient and contemporary. Her quest for order and harmony and long-standing fascination with colour and basic geometric form, led to years of relentless experimentation with varied artistic styles. Her work is informed by careful reflection on complex issues rooted in universal themes such as love, homeland, the joys and struggles of living, humanity, compassion, spirituality and the transience of human existence.

Maysaloun Faraj was born in Los Angeles, California (1955) to Iraqi parents. She moved to Iraq in 1968, graduated with a BSc in Architecture (Baghdad University 1978), and in 1982 went to live in London with her husband, the architect Ali Mousawi. She soon relocated to Paris with her young family, and after two years returned to London, to live, raise her young family and further her art education. In 2015/17/18, Faraj went to Paris as a resident of the Cité Internationale des Arts. This period evoked renewed interest in geometric abstraction, which instigated a series of paintings ‘in conversation’ with Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky, Sonia Delaunay and Josef Albers. It was time in confinement during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020-22 however, that would bring her back to depicting the world subjectively. This triggered a profoundly influential oeuvre, simply by repeatedly drawing her HOME, and with this, also exploring the notion of ‘home’ and its broader implications. This time however, it was with the looming energies of Matisse and Van Gogh, both of whom incidentally created their momentous works during their time in isolation.

Her work is held in prestigious international public collections worldwide including: the British Muse um (UK), National Museum for Women in the Arts (USA), Rotterdam Werldmuseum (Netherlands), Barjeel Art Foundation (UAE), Al-Mansouria Foundation (Paris), National Gallery of Fine Arts (Jor dan), Aga Khan Foundation (UK/Canada), National Modern Art Museum (Baghdad), United Nations (Switzerland), Center for Arab American Studies (USA), and esteemed private collections including HRH Prince of Wales (UK), the late Wilfred Thesiger, Hussain Ali Harba (Italy), Ali Husri (Jordan), Ibrahimi (Jordan), the late Basil al-Rahim (UK), Abdul Majid Briesh (UK), Hamad Al Abdulla and Nasser Al Khori (Qatar) and important others. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London.

Maysaloun Faraj

NO PLACE LIKE HOME • A LIGHT WITHIN

Similar to many artists at present, I do not have access to my studio due to the Covid pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns. With this, I resorted to making practical art within the means avail able: small works on paper. The nationwide message to ‘Stay Home Save Lives’, prompted me on a mission: to draw what I was facing, day in, day out, my living space, my HOME! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the impact this pandemic would have on my art direction, affecting a huge shift in the way I paint in terms of subject, style, technique, size and medium. Prior to this, my residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris instigated a series of large geometric abstract paintings as I indulged in the works of Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky, Sonia Delaunay and distinguished others, all of which were at arm’s length in the vibrant Marais district. It was time in confinement however, that would trigger a series of small drawings featuring intimate perspec tives of our living space and the objects within. Through direct observation, with the looming energies of Matisse and Van Gogh this time around, I began rediscovering my drawing skills. The last time I depicted the world subjectively was back in the mid-1970s as a student of architecture at Baghdad University. ‘Free Hand’ and ‘Still Life’ drawing, was part of our training. We would often go beyond the confines of the classroom in a quest to draw the traditional Baghdadi houses that aligned the banks of the River Tigris, and the narrow alleyways of the ancient city. In this process, I found myself reflecting deeply on the notion of ‘home’ and its broader implications.

In between lockdowns, I was able to gain access to my studio. However, I continued to explore the theme of HOME, re-interpreting these timely drawings on a grander scale in a different me dium, mainly ‘oil on canvas’ as opposed to ‘acrylic on paper’. With this, I have found immense pleasure, peace and solace in a time of great uncertainty. Despite the turmoil of the day, there has been an abundance of solidarity, humanity, joy and beauty across the globe, and earth, is for the first time, in peace. I feel more connected, not only with the present, but also with the past, reliving treasured memories of what was once my home in that golden city in the heart of the cradle of civilisation, Baghdad. There truly is ‘no place like home’, if we are fortunate enough to have a home. I pray for those who have lost their lives or loved ones in these tragic circum stances and hope for the day that this nightmare is over and life returns to ‘normal’, though I do believe it will never be the same. The artworks presented in this publication, the critical essay by Dr Shakir Mustafa, and the selected commentaries, which first appeared alongside the work in social media, form a visual diary to chronicle this surreal moment in world history, from a personal point of view. On reflection, I have come to realise that after forty years of living in this vibrant city, the HOME series is a visual declaration, that I can finally call London... HOME!

This work portrays my living room with what I have termed ‘The Magic Coffee Table That Never Knew How Magical It Was Until Lockdown’! On this ta ble, which is central to our living space, are the core elements that have kept me sane throughout the treacherous pandemic lockdowns!

Day in, day out, I would repeatedly draw each and every item including the tray with teapot, sugar and milk cups, a number of ceramics I had made in earlier years, including my ‘Pots of Baraka’ (on the table) and ‘Baghdad II’ (in the distance), orchids in a pot, a turquoise glass fruit basket and a green glass vase (both of which were gifts from dear friends I haven’t been able to meet since lockdown began) and a beautiful book on Henry Matisse. His looming energy seems to have inspired many of the paintings I made during this time. Also in view, is the velvety turquoise sofa, a large painting by the artist Athier Mousawi @athieragram, books on bookshelves, two cosy green striped armchairs, carpets, windows leading on to a balcony with views of the River Thames (often a reminder of the River Tigris ‘Dijla’, back home in Baghdad).

In the foreground on a transparent glass stand is ‘Petrichor’, a ceramic pot gracefully bearing wit ness to this unprecedented time in our history.

HOME: FRAGILE BRICKS OF A METAPHOR

As a metaphor, ‘home’ is loaded with connotations that vary with times and cultures, but their ultimate thrust has indicated comfort with having a definite and concrete locale of return. In Maysaloun Faraj’s HOME paintings, jovial settings, objects and colours compete for our attention. Glass tables and vases brimming with lush flowers; paintings rendered with pride and pleasure; lux urious rugs; open and inviting bookcases; sofas and armchairs that define the cosy space we call home, and above all, smaller and recurrent objects like the chequered tea set, the turquoise fruit basket, and a volume of Henry Matisse’s paintings. Home here is heaven, but one with vulnerabil ities. True to her calling as an artist with a strong public concern, Faraj allows such vulnerabilities to surface in her work. Her joyful paintings express awareness of what is transient and shifting in our existence. Change in shapes and background colours, and details, such as the empty teacups might betray anxieties over absent loved ones, or over what the next moment or day may bring. Another suggestive detail is the recurrent piece of fruit outside the fruit basket.

A tiny, perfect creation that reminds us of the responsibilities of belonging, attractions of individ uality, and the tense possibilities of existence with others. The Matisse volume, always portrayed closed, is not a typical coffee table book, but a testimony to affinities between artists regardless of time and place. The need for inspiration, for connections with a community of the imagination, is a persistent pressure in the creative process, where artists negotiate preserving their personal ity by belonging to a wide circle of original creators. Similarly, a serene night view of the Thames in Faraj’s paintings, can hint at the mysteries of dark places, and the ubiquitous sense of beauty and magic that will run their courses. Faraj’s insight into the intricacies of space has been growing in perspective and depth.

The initial sketches of home environments look more like classical ‘Still Life’ in the first few weeks of March and April of 2020. As time goes by, both environment and objects become more imaginative, with changing colours and perspectives. The outside world emerges as a significant component of the re-imagined home, colours become more central, and blank colourful spaces be come a fixture. As a skilled abstract artist, Faraj has been redefining the genre of Still Life, when spaces and colours in her HOME paintings start to endow traditional home areas with evocative energy and intimacy. The private domestic areas become more universal, and they start to invite reflections and interpretations. The objects are no longer inanimate, and a scene could be painted dozens of times, with fresher looks and meanings.

Faraj’s prolific works, created in the span of twenty-one months or so, during the Covid pandemic, have sharpened the public dimen sion of her initial, largely personal, motivation. This, seems due to a natural and responsive engagement of the world around her rather than a shift in artistic sensibility.

One demonstration of this tendency, is the fact that Faraj painted several other homes in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Details in her paintings show the care with which she treats components of a home set ting: stunning artworks, carpets, or furniture. The ultimate effect of portraying lively homes where other people live, widens the scope of her global message.

A positive understanding of cultural differenc es between races, genders, colours, histories, and physical abilities brings individuals and communities closer. Some of us might find it problematic that social media is reshaping our perceptions of citizenship and belong ing, but in a global culture that persistently challenges traditional definitions, this problem seems a reality we need to recognize. The Covid pandemic has been just one more re minder of how tightly connected we seem to

The orchids are no longer in bloom! This beauti ful batch of tulips and wild flowers, received from loved ones for Eid, has now replaced the much ad mired and repeatedly drawn, now fading orchids. New beginnings!

be, and how porous borders are. Belonging to a heritage, country, religion, nationality, or profession, might be a common circumstance, and departing from that can be genuinely in triguing. Such departures can be necessary supplements to identity. Maysaloun Faraj’s artworks and views seem to lean in that di rection. One of her most recent comments about her own works and her own life, pre sents an identity departure, in terms of an epiphanic experience:

“I have come to realise that after 40 years of living in this vibrant city, the HOME series is a visual declara tion that I can finally call London… HOME!”

Personal identities can be produced, and they can clash or coexist in harmony, but their mul tiplicity is a testimony to our global destiny. Faraj’s comprehension of Arab, Muslim, British, French, and American cultures, to name a few, certainly widens her global perception of her role as an artist and a citizen of the world.

“In a spirit of solidarity, I created the Facebook group ‘Stay Home: Draw Home’ to entice artists, enthusi asts, and creatives to connect and share a glimpse into their own homes, through drawing it. We cannot visit each other physically at present, but perhaps we can do so through art!”

My orchids sing, despite the doom and gloom! There is always hope for better times ahead!

HOME | Fragile Bricks of a Metaphor • Shakir Mustafa

This group, which she created at the start of the pandemic, shows a remarkable openness to global forces that must have contributed to shaping her responses to a world health crisis. As an artistic response to a global reality in need of continued imagining, this group has been a model and a practical me dium for creative responses to a worldwide crisis. It is remarkable that a social media project, created opportunities for the public to chart through artworks, personal positions towards a transnational tragedy.

A companion Facebook page titled ‘Stay Home: MakeArt (Budding Talents Aged 3-8)’ soon followed. Providing children with a crea tive outlet at a stressful stretch of time, has produced a sizable collection of works that attracted critical attention. The children’s en thusiasm to share their works has been par amount, and perceptive responses, from a fairly wide membership, consolidated empathy among adults and children in a pandemic year that must have been especially baffling to children. Displaying artworks is an act load ed with intentions. Use of social media to propagate meaningful engagement of artis tic energies has resonated with an increasing

The large velvety turquoise sofa, is another impos ing feature in my living room, complemented by all its colourful surroundings! From the glass coffee table, with all its bits and bobs, to artworks by re nowned Iraqi artists, to ceramic pieces I have made over the years, etc. So much to observe! So many details to absorb, and so much joy to draw! HOME is a sanctuary, a place of beauty, a place of peace!

membership. At a time of a tragic pandemic, the project has developed into a collective effort to mount a thoughtful response to an existential threat. In a book with the provoc ative title ‘Why Only Art Can Save Us’, San tiago Zabala demonstrates how contemporary art has moved from issues of beauty and harmony into a more aggressive ‘interven tion’ mode that disrupts our consciousness. It produces ‘social, urban, environmental, and historical alterations’ and hence, its empha ses are on meaning and truth, not just tradi tional aesthetic values.

Maysaloun Faraj’s works echo similar interven tions, with the urge to explore not only the spatial, but also the symbolic implications of one’s own home. Recent studies of identity formation have emphasized adding ‘cultural citizenship’ as a legitimate component. Gra ham Meikle defines it as ‘the recognition of differences demanded by the identity politics of the later twentieth century’. Global cit izens are emerging as the citizenry of the future, and critical historical developments will hinge on their imagination and performance. Faraj has generously provided contexts to her works in the past three decades, and those

today! Looking inwards.

HOME

Metaphor

Shakir Mustafa

ART AND IDENTITIES

The creative energies apparent in Faraj’s works, then, point to key identity origins that link her not only to other Iraqi artists, but also to her nation of origin. As the commen tary on several of her paintings shows, having themes, colours, and composition details with direct and implied connections to the mother land, seems a deliberate assertion of an iden tity component.

Faraj has also elaborated on her connections to the multifaceted and colourful cultures of Iraq in interviews and artistic statements and, more important, she has touchingly shown her affinities in paintings, sculptures, and ceramic pieces. ‘I draw inspiration’, she says in one of her statements, from the complex factors that form identity: ‘as an artist, a woman, a Muslim and an Iraqi living outside the motherland’. As I point out earlier, the artist’s portrayal of her multiple histories, gains critical depth and ma turity as she builds a sharper comprehension of her mission and status in several cultural settings. The works, by individuals of Iraqi de scent living in the UK and the USA, also reflect on the nature and extent of discursive dia

Another view of my sunflowers at home, set proudly against a backdrop of artworks by some of Iraq’s leading artists in our collection! Recognise any?

HOME

on canvas on board

Eased Lockdown

logues involving multiple cultural backgrounds. Negotiating a culture of origin that is specifi cally Iraqi in fluid and global settings, such as those of the current pandemic, will certainly problematize notions of origins and belonging. It becomes difficult at times to draw lines between components of identity, and at times like these, cultural analysis flourishes.

In the final analysis, the commentary reflects on the dynamics of belonging and departures, specifically when they occur in a global and communal experience, that defies borders. That such dynamics unfold in a dialogue of image and text, in this joint enterprise, is an innovative approach to Iraqi culture as it evolves at home and abroad in tandem with global forces. Over the Covid quarantines, her creativity flourished into more purposeful inten tions in several of her later paintings. Reflect ing on one of these paintings, Faraj writes:

‘Never in my wildest dream did I imagine the impact this unprecedented pandemic would have on my art direction’.

HOME | Fragile Bricks of a Metaphor • Shakir Mustafa

‘Now I understand’! Van Gogh, rest in peace!

to explain what a ‘Nithr’ was, who makes them, and who grants the wishes. She was thirteen then and she had just returned with her parents to their land. At times, she felt her own mother was relearning her heritage as she introduced the teen ager to her culture. The mother wanted her to know the stories, all of them, and to pass them on to her own children. She blushed when she heard that, then she really laughed when the mother add ed, and your grandchildren. Children were not her immediate concern as she spent hours every day to learn her mother tongue. The teenager would sometimes think of the glamorous cities of the West they just left behind, and of the languages she already learned.

She cherished what she loved there, but she seemed to know where her heart was. Why is there a big candle in the middle? She remembered asking. That one belongs to motherhood - the household’s matriarch has a ‘Nithr’ for every child and every adult, and that candle grows bigger and bigger with every vow. And if she has no children, that big candle will burn all night for the fulfilment of her heart’s desire. The Zacharia celebration thrilled the girl when she and her relatives congre gate and sing that hypnotic refrain, Ya Zacharia, come back next year, and every year, and I’ll set up your tray. Excited children will go around with small vow trays to share food with neighbours. For a day, the neighbourhood seemed one big house. The teenager will become a mother and a grand mother, and she will remember the vows she made in those tender years: To her mother, to pass on the stories; to her father, to honour his homeland; to her neighbours, to cherish them as family; to her mind, to stay the course and overcome set

I would love a hot cup-a-tea! I will have to wait until Futoor! Ramadhan mubarek!

backs; and to her heart, to go with her dreams like a kite in the wind. The candle of her imagination grew with every vow, and it will burn night after night to light up her way and the way for those around her.

HOME 33 • A dozen times? May asked, fascinated. She painted that same subject a dozen times? Give or take, March said. He can check on that, he added. April leaned forward to get a closer look at that painting on her screen. A glass table holding objects that seem to come to life as you stare at them. She could see a couple coming for tea - they will lift the chequered cups and inhale the faint vapours. The cardamom infused tea, a household fixture for decades, invokes memories too precious to part with. If life were to imitate art, April thought, the couple will look at the or chids and then at the blue and green pots fondly. And their looks will return to the pots and linger a while. I wish I knew their unfathomable connections to these pots, she mused.

March, does anything change in the other versions? May’s voice came through April’s laptop and shook her back into reality. Yes, in one of them the rug under the table is red. I mean crazy red! And in another, it metamorphoses into a floral pattern with red and turquoise flowers. Turquoise seems her colour, he thought. Here, he said, I’m sending more of them. Of the three, March was the one enchanted by these paintings. He just saw them today on a website promoting staying home during this Corona pandemic and he looked for more. The more he looked, the more he found. A plethora of paintings and drawings by adults and children in which homes appear in myriad imagi native forms. The ones he liked most he shared

This work is the second in a series of large ‘oil on canvas’ paintings, based on the small works of the HOME series. Bouts of eased restrictions, facilitat ed access to my studio where I was able to rein terpret these timely drawings on a grander scale! Tulips come in most colours, except blue!

The Blue Tulip (HOME 55) • 29 October 2021 Oil on Canvas 150x130cm Tier System

HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

When a friend in New York moved home, she asked if I could capture the scene outside her window as a special momenta. ‘This is so beautiful I want to cry!’ was her response when she saw it!

At a time when movement is restricted and visiting others has become the stuff of dreams, I find myself crossing continents, delving into all kinds of homes, near and far; homes full of warmth, love and beauty, albeit through the medium of art! Homes of close friends dearly missed, art friends, whose exuberant home interiors and riveting art collections, were particularly uplifting during a time of great apprehension and uncertainty. These collaborations were made possible through sharing photographs, taken by themselves, of their living spaces, during the pandemic. The project also included ‘homes away from home’, those of troubled homelands, embeded in my heart. Last but not least, my studio; my haven, my peace, my shelter, my solace, essentially my second home, which I was fortunately able to access inbetween the lockdowns.

In terms of creativity, never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted such a positive outcome to this unprecedented circumstance. It just goes to show, that there is a silver lining, a light at the end of a tunnel, and tomorrow that golden sun of boundless beauty, warmth and energy, suspended miraculously above us all, will again rise!

FAREWELL Colleen Devine • New York @colleendevine 3 August 2020 Acrylic on Paper 24x18cm Eased Lockdown

HOME Paula Al Askari Abu Dhabi UAE

@paulaalaskari

(Art Collector, Patron to both Art Dubai and Friends of Abu Dhabi Art)

Hostess extraordinaire, Paula Al Askari is passionate about life, art, culture and beauty in all it forms! Fear lessly mixing periods, styles, colours and patterns, with an eclectic collection ranging from antiquity to contemporary and a flair for carpets and textiles!

This is the fifth in a series of HOME drawings, made in collaboration with art collectors, patrons and art enthusiasts worldwide! Thank you Paula! It was great fun drawing this part of your beautiful home. Your sense of colour and courage in juxtaposing old with new, is simply spectacular!

HOME Paula Al Askari

HOME Allegra Mostyn-Owen

London UK @allegrapots (Studio Potter, Teacher, Philanthropist, Art Collector and occasional Writer)

Allegra Mostyn-Owen’s art collection is an eclec tic mixture of Antique, Old Masters, 19th Century Watercolours, Modern and Contemporary Art, with focus on Contemporary Studio Ceramics.

This is the third in a series of HOME drawings made in collaboration with art collectors, patrons and enthusiasts worldwide! Thank you Allegra for this special peek into your warm and inviting home! What a treat this has been!

HOMES

Patrons

HOME Allegra Mostyn-Owen

Paper

Eased Lockdown

HOME Khaled and Jouhayna Samawi Dubai UAE

@ayyamgallery and @jouhaynasamawi (Gallerist, Philanthropist, Patron and Collector)

Founded in 2006, Ayyam Gallery (ayyamgallery. com) is a leading blue-chip art space in Dubai that manages the careers of diverse established and emerging artists. A series of collaborative projects in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia, and a multinational non-profit arts programme, have furthered the gallery’s mandate of expanding the parameters of international art.

With its widely respected multilingual publishing di vision and a custodianship programme that manag es the estates of pioneering artists, Ayyam Gallery has also contributed to recent efforts that document underrepresented facets of global art history.

On view in this unique HOME perspective is Saf wan Dahoul Dream 27, Nadim Karam’s Heavy Silence chrome sculpture, Yasam Sasmazer’s sculpture Big Bang II and Helmut Newton’s book titled ‘Year of Execution’. This interior is deeply reflective of Jouhayna’s unique sense of style, el egance, beauty and grace. Thank you Jouhayna and Khaled for this wonderful collaboration and your warm welcome into your beautiful home!

HOME

HOME Hamza Serafi

Jeddah Saudi Arabia

@h.serafi

(Gallerist, Patron and avid Art Collector)

Hamza Serafi has played a pivotal role in building the contemporary art scene in Saudi Arabia, where he co-founded Athr Gallery (athrart.com) in Jeddah (2009). Relentless in his support for emerging and established artists in Saudi, and the Arab region, with an ongoing roster of residencies, commissions, exhibitions, educational programs and funding.

Athr Gallery has been instrumental in fostering the arts, sowing seeds for a flourishing art scene, with recently established public art institutions, museums and art schools, connecting Saudi art with world art.

What makes this collaboration very special is that it coincided with the holy month of Ramadhan. “You caught my home at a time when giving and sharing is at its peak. These orchids, dates and sweet trays are in preparation for a surge of ‘gifting’, in appre ciation of women and children, friends and family.” Embracing this special art-filled home of goodness and joy, in my HOME series, was sheer pleasure! Thank you dear Hamza Serafi and Happy Eid!

HOME Hamza Serafi • 11 May 2021 Acrylic on Paper 36x26cm Eased Lockdown

HOME Carla Shen New York USA @carlapshen #carlascamo (Trustee of the Brooklyn Museum, Philanthropist and avid Art Collector)

Carla Shen is an earnest art patron, serving on the boards of the Brooklyn Museum and Green-Wood Cemetery. She is an avid art collector, with a stun ning trove of contemporary art.

She is also known for her delightful Instagram ac count where she has been posting photos of her self at gallery and museum shows wearing wittingly made outfits that match the artworks on view. Shen insists that the project is for fun, and brings a re freshing lightness to the art world, often lending exposure to the artists and shows she visits.

Thank you Carla Shen for kickstarting this project, sharing glimpses of your stunning home, expressed ardently through my brushstrokes!

HOME Karen Robinovitz

New York USA

@karenrobinovitz

(On the Board of Advisors for the Brooklyn Museum, avid Art Collector and Co-Founder of @sloomooinstitute)

The multi-talented Karen Robinovitz has also been a Contributing Editor at Marie Claire and Elle Mag azine, and has penned high profile pieces for Harper’s Bazaar, New York Post, New York Times, Glamour and numerous others.

She is the author of three books, has worked in tel evision, marketing and communications, consulting for a mix of luxury and accessible brands.

This is the second in a series of HOME drawings, made in collaboration with leading art collectors, pa trons and enthusiasts worldwide! Thank you Karen Robinovitz for sharing a glimpse of your beautiful home and the artwork in your collection! Depicting it was sheer joy! I wonder who’s next? Happy Easter!

HOME Karen Robinovitz

This time a curved plate of dates and one of my vertical ceramic forms, is added to that magical glass coffee table that has kept me busy through out the ‘Stay Home Save Lives’ period in our history to help stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus. In the background is my square dining table that has become a station for working this HOME se ries! In the distance is a large window overlooking the Thames river and Wandsworth Bridge.

At the age of 99, Captain Sir Thomas Moore began to walk one hundred lengths of his garden in aid of ‘NHS Charities Together’, with the goal of raising one thousand British pounds by his 100th birthday on 6 April 2020! The total raised by his walk today (happy birthday!) passed thirty million! What a re markable inspirational human being!

Christmas is looming, and my Poinsettia plant is singing! A time when families get together in good ness, rejoice and look forward to the year ahead!

Lockdown is lifted and London goes to a stricter Tier system. The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is approved for use in the UK, becoming the first to be authorised anywhere in the world.

OIL ON CANVAS

A prominent feature of British culture, and still con sidered an important part of the British identity, is a simple yet heart-warming ‘Cuppa’, short for a ‘cupof-tea’; seen to help sooth life’s ongoing trials and tribulations. ‘As English as a cup of tea’ or ‘just my cup of tea’ when describing something favourable, or ‘not my cup of tea’ when describing the oppo site, are phrases often heard. So cheers to that much treasured and often needed heart-warming Cuppa, especially in times like these! It truly helps!

As lockdown restrictions eased, access to my studio resumed, albeit in bouts with fluctuating restrictions. Having worked on small ‘acrylic on paper’ on a daily basis for almost a year since the pandemic began, the urge to work big again was pressing. With the subject of HOME looming, my aim was to translate these intimate drawings into large imposing canvases. Even though I started with small canvases, I soon discovered that maintaining the same sensibilities of the small ‘acrylic on paper’ works was a challenging feat! After numerous trials and tribulations, numb fin gers and an aching back, not to mention testing all kinds of ‘oil’ mediums (paints, pastels, sticks and pigment) I do think I may have finally cracked it! The works in the following section are all in oils. Alongside the individual titles, I have included (in brackets), references to the original ‘acrylic on paper’ work from which they were inspired. So, here’s to more beauty, vigour, colour, accomplishment, progress and defiance!

Time for a Cuppa (HOME 33) • 25 October 2021 Oil on Canvas 160x140cm Eased Lockdown

Shakir Mustafa

Dr Shakir Mustafa has been a Teaching Profes sor of Arabic at Northeastern University, USA since 2008. From 1999 to 2008, he taught at Indiana University and Boston University. Dr Mustafa grew up in Iraq, and for eleven years, taught at Mosul University in Northern Iraq.

His most recent publication titled ‘Contem porary Iraqi Fiction: An Anthology’ (Syracuse 2008, AUC 2009, 2018), has been recog nized by The Bloomsbury Review as ‘One of the most important books in 2008’. Other book publications are in the areas of Literary Translation, Irish drama, and Jewish American

fiction. Dr Mustafa has published articles and book reviews in peer review journals as well as translations of fiction and poetry in Arab and American journals. He has lectured widely on Arab and Muslim cultures and politics, and has given numerous radio and television inter views on NPR, NECN, FOX News, BBC, Voice of America, among others.

“Interests and research into matters of origins, iden tities, belonging, and racial harmony have shaped my worldly outlook. Involved intellectuals can make change happen in and outside their communities, and such a fundamental perception shapes much of what I do now. Besides writing and translating, I have been making wood sculptures since 2010. Academic and crafts preoccupations have helped me make meaningful products for myself and those around me. I haven’t

escaped into them; they have been there all the time, lurking among what I love, and they just came out when I seemed to need them most. My first translations of Iraqi fiction and poetry came as a response to the trivialization of Arab culture in much of the Western media after 9/11/2001, and as a service to my students who couldn’t read Iraqi literature in Arabic. I have embraced the wood works for very personal reasons”.

In 2014, Dr Mustafa was awarded CATS fund ing from the College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, and a Boston Univer sity Humanities Foundation Fellowship for the spring semester of 2007.

MARK HACHEM

Mark Hachem is a Gallerist, Art Advisor and Collector based between Paris, Beirut and New York. In 1996 Mark Hachem opened his first gallery for contemporary art, in the heart of Paris, in the popular Marais district.

His second gallery was launched in New York’s Madison Avenue (2007), followed by a third in Downtown Beirut (2010). Exhibiting a wide range of styles from Cubist, Neo-Expressionist, Op-Art and Kinetic-Art, to art from the Middle East with celebrated artists including Hussein Madi, Sabhan Adam, Yaser Safi, Hamed Abdal la, Helen Khal, Chaouki Chamoun and notable

others. An ardent defender of Contemporary Art, Mark Hachem is also an advisor to public institutions and private collectors. Galerie Mark Hachem has not only exhibited, but helped launch the careers of many contemporary artists, both Middle Eastern and International including Ghazi Baker, Nedim Kufi, Nazar Yahya, Sara Shamma, Zena Assi, George Merheb, Charles Khoury, Raffi Yedalian, Paul Gossian, Bastiani, Stiller, Yves Hayat, Victor Ekpuk, Thomas Agriner, Mathias Schmied, and Shawn Smith.

Over the past two decades, Galerie Mark Hachem has attracted prestigious artists and distinguished itself from other Parisian galleries by its interest in Kinetic-Art. Mark Hachem’s Mark Hachem at Art Élysées

France

passion for art spans a wide array of trends and styles and has shown important works by renowned artists, not least of which are exponents of the Op-Art movement including Vaserely, Jesus-Rafael Soto, Cruz Diez, Anto nio Asis, Cesar Andrade and Dario Perez Flores as well as Cubist, Neo-Expressionists and art from Ecole de Nice amongst esteemed others.

Further renowned artists whose works have also been on show at Galerie Mark Hachem in clude Pablo Picasso, Arman, Christo, Fernando Botero, Polles, Mauro Corda, Roberto Matta, Wifredo Lam, Philippe Hiquily and Marino Di Teana and distinguished others.

Taking a break from household chores and draw ing the HOME series, often I find myself looking out of this window, overlooking Wandsworth Bridge and the Thames, and ponder on how the ‘outside’ world is coping in these troubled times. It is anoth er grey day out there, but the sun will for sure show through, if not today, tomorrow!

The Prime Minister unveils England’s winter plan for Covid ‘Plan B’ to be used if the National Health Service comes under ‘unsustainable pressure’ and includes measures such as face masks.

MAYSALOUN FARAJ

Maysaloun Faraj was born in California, USA (1955) to Iraqi parents. She moved to Iraq in 1968, graduated with a BSc in Architecture (Baghdad University 1978), and departed to live in London with her husband, the architect Ali Mousawi (1982). Soon thereafter, she re located to Paris with her young family, and in two years, returned to live in London where she was able to further her art education. In later years, Faraj revisited Paris as a resident of the Al-Mansouria Foundation at the Cité Internationale des Arts (2015/17/18).

Her visual vocabulary is colour and basic ge ometric form; an ideal realm for order and harmony. Amid an aesthetic informed by ar chitectural discipline, is a complex web of references, bridging East and West, ancient and contemporary, the public and the highly intimate, often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence.

“The story I want to share is my challenge as an artist, a woman, a Muslim and an Ameri can-born Iraqi, living outside the motherland.”

Besides her own artwork, Faraj initiated and lead a multi-faceted project to bring the works of Iraqi artists to the fore; Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art (1995-2003). Sup ported by Arts Council England, this comprised a ground-breaking UK-USA exhibition tour, the first ever website to feature the works of Iraqi artists collectively, and a seminal publication of which she is editor. In 2002 she co-found ed Aya Gallery with her husband, the architect

Ali Mousawi, curating important exhibitions in London with focus on modern and contempo rary art from Iraq. In 2008 Faraj was invited to serve as a judge for the first Arab Art and Culture Award in the UK. After years dedicated to ‘putting Iraqi Art on the map’, gaining the interest of museums, collectors and international auction houses, she decided that the time was due to focus back on her own artwork.

This culminated in the acclaimed solo exhibition titled ‘Boats and Burdens: Kites and Shattered Dreams (2009)’, which was inaugurated by Dr Venetia Porter (Curator of Modern Middle East at The British Museum) and subsequent residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, where she was able to develop her painting and long-standing interest in colour and geometric abstraction.

In March 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the nationwide ‘Stay Home Save Lives’ mes sage and the ensuing lockdowns, Faraj em barked on a new body of work, based around the theme of ‘home’, the result of which was the HOME series featured in the publication. Selected works from this series will be pre sented in a solo-exhibition at Galerie Mark Hachem, planned for June 2022.

Faraj’s work is in notable public and private collections worldwide. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London.

Maysaloun Faraj at her studio working on the painting Alhamdulilah al-Salama

“Picasso, in his melancholic Blue Period, found expression, painting in monochromic blue. Faraj on the contrary, uses colour, in all its spectrum, to counteract a tragic period in world history as a visual declaration of hope over despair, light over darkness. The presence of her distinguished art in our home is of extraordinary uplifting influence, and her friendship is a treasure. Maysaloun Faraj’s HOME series, is an historic testament to a challenging period in our lives, but also, to the noble impulses of humanity that will prevail.”

Hussain Ali Harba, Turin Italy 2022 Collector, Patron, Architect, Designer

In this latest series of paintings titled HOME Lockdown 2020-22 Maysaloun Faraj creates intimate drawings of her home, made dur ing the pandemic lockdowns, as a visual memoir marking a pivotal moment in world history from a personal point of view.

She works in a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpture. Her long-standing fascination with colour, order and harmony, led to relentless experimentation with varied artistic styles, informed by careful reflection on complex is sues, rooted in universal themes such as love, loss, spirituality and the transience of human existence.

Maysaloun Faraj was born in Los Angeles, California (1955) to Iraqi parents. She moved to Iraq (1968), graduated with a BSc in Architecture (1978), and went to live in London with her husband, the architect Ali Mousawi. Soon, she relocated to Paris with her young family and after two years, returned to live in Lon don and further her art education. In later years, Faraj went to Paris as a resident of the Cité Internationale des Arts (2015/17/18) hosted by the Mansouria Foundation. This period evoked renewed interest in geometric abstraction, and instigated a series of paint ings distinctly ‘in conversation’ with Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky, Sonia Delaunay, Josef Albers and distinguished others.

It was time in confinement during the pandemic lock downs however, that would bring her to depict the world subjec tively, triggering a profoundly influential oeuvre, simply by drawing her home. This time though, it was with the looming energies of Matisse and Van Gogh, both of who incidentally created their mo mentous works whilst in isolation.

HOME Lockdown 2020-22 also marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in Paris at Galerie Mark Hachem. With 145 colour reproductions and a critical essay by Dr Shakir Mustafa, this special limited edition publication seeks to throw light on art made at a particularly challenging time in world history.

Her work is held in noteworthy public and private collec tions worldwide. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London.