OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON (sample pages)

ourouba The Eye of Lebanon Edited by Rose Issa i FOREWORD BY GEORGES CORM

ourouba The Eye of Lebanon EditedBY byGEORGES Rose Issa CORM Edited by Rose Issa i FOREWORD

Rose Issa Projects

ourouba The Eye of Lebanon EditedBY byGEORGES Rose Issa CORM Edited by Rose Issa i FOREWORD

Rose Issa Projects

beirut art fair For the centerpiece exhibition of its 8th edition, BEIRUT ART

“Ourouba, The Eye of Lebanon”

FAIR presents OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON.

is part of BEIRUT ART FAIR 2017

Dedicated to the complexities and specificities of modern

Organized by BAF EVENT SARL

and contemporary art in the Middle East, the exhibition

RCB 1019674 - VAT 3074150

gathers a selection of 70 key works by more than 40 artists,

P.O. Box 116 2270 – Beirut – Lebanon

drawn from 20 of Lebanon’s most prestigious public and

info@beirut-art-fair.com

private collections.

OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON offers a unique perspective on the meaning of “Arabicity” in today’s world, and on the ways in which Arab artists have reacted to the uncertainties, challenges and turmoil of the past decade.

We are deeply grateful to Rose Issa for her enthusiastic acceptance of our invitation to curate this exhibition and for the unparalleled expertise she brought to the work it entailed.

It is our hope that OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON will direct us towards a better understanding of artistic expression and its implications in and for the Arab world today.

Fadi Yazigi Untitled

Laure d’Hauteville

Ink on bread, 21 x 21 x 9 cm, 2010

Director, BEIRUT ART FAIR

Yola Noujaim Collection, © Mansour Dib

6

7

beirut art fair For the centerpiece exhibition of its 8th edition, BEIRUT ART

“Ourouba, The Eye of Lebanon”

FAIR presents OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON.

is part of BEIRUT ART FAIR 2017

Dedicated to the complexities and specificities of modern

Organized by BAF EVENT SARL

and contemporary art in the Middle East, the exhibition

RCB 1019674 - VAT 3074150

gathers a selection of 70 key works by more than 40 artists,

P.O. Box 116 2270 – Beirut – Lebanon

drawn from 20 of Lebanon’s most prestigious public and

info@beirut-art-fair.com

private collections.

OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON offers a unique perspective on the meaning of “Arabicity” in today’s world, and on the ways in which Arab artists have reacted to the uncertainties, challenges and turmoil of the past decade.

We are deeply grateful to Rose Issa for her enthusiastic acceptance of our invitation to curate this exhibition and for the unparalleled expertise she brought to the work it entailed.

It is our hope that OUROUBA: THE EYE OF LEBANON will direct us towards a better understanding of artistic expression and its implications in and for the Arab world today.

Fadi Yazigi Untitled

Laure d’Hauteville

Ink on bread, 21 x 21 x 9 cm, 2010

Director, BEIRUT ART FAIR

Yola Noujaim Collection, © Mansour Dib

6

7

Ourouba The Eye of Lebanon

by Rose Issa

Since 2001, Arab societies have powerlessly witnessed violent

exhibition in a talk2 with curator Michket Krifa, insists that ‘the

events which brought not only chaos in their midst, but also a

21st century starts with the Second Gulf War (1990-1991), a

frightening extension of a terrorism claiming itself to be ‘Islamic’,

decade before 9/11 and two before the “Arab Spring”. This

inside and outside their lands.

conflict that was the main regional echo to the end of the Cold War opened a moment of cultural liberalization with the Arabian

The deliberate disaggregation of the Arab world, with its ugly

Peninsula as a center’.

face of violence, military agendas and theft from historical sites in countries including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen

As a guest curator of the BEIRUT ART FAIR’s non-profit

and Libya, has generated an urgency: directing creative minds

exhibition, I have been interested in the relevance of artworks –

to reflect more intensely on life, resilience and beauty, despite

which need not be pessimistic – and in an art than reflects

the mental and physical chaos around them. So how do artists

the aesthetic, conceptual and socio-political concerns of the

from the region, mostly secular, respond to, express, offset or

Arab world over the last fifteen years; artworks that reflect,

avoid these turbulences, mercenary interventions, humiliation

preferably poignantly, beautifully, with grace and humor –

and surveillance?

those concerns. Hence the works suggest no theory-laden messages and no particular philosophy other than the artist’s

Curated through visits to some twenty private and institutional

own experience of life and essence of art in war torn zones.

collections in Lebanon, the exhibition Ourouba (Arabicity), The Eye of Lebanon at the BEIRUT ART FAIR 2017, focuses on artistic

In the current booming cultural scene of Beirut, where several

productions and acquisitions of the 21st century. It features

private museums are taking shape and some have already

installations, paintings, photography, video and sculptural works

opened3, Ourouba shows how artists and collectors, with

from more than forty artists from the Arab world.

different tastes and visions, challenge the confines of their identity and reshape the parameters of their cultural traditions.

Oussama Baalbaki, Portrait of Ayman Badreddine

For many in the West, the promotion and focus on the region’s

Acrylic on canvas, 180 x 150 cm, 2015

art began after the 1991 invasion of Iraq, that is why Alexandre

Following the success of ReOrientations, Contemporary Arab

Oil on canvas, 105 x 80 cm, 2014

Dr Ayman Badreddine Collection

Kazerouni, author of ‘Le Mirroir des cheikhs’ , who joins the

Representations, at the European Parliament in Brussels in

KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection

8

1

Marwan Sahmarani, Portrait of AK

9

Ourouba The Eye of Lebanon

by Rose Issa

Since 2001, Arab societies have powerlessly witnessed violent

exhibition in a talk2 with curator Michket Krifa, insists that ‘the

events which brought not only chaos in their midst, but also a

21st century starts with the Second Gulf War (1990-1991), a

frightening extension of a terrorism claiming itself to be ‘Islamic’,

decade before 9/11 and two before the “Arab Spring”. This

inside and outside their lands.

conflict that was the main regional echo to the end of the Cold War opened a moment of cultural liberalization with the Arabian

The deliberate disaggregation of the Arab world, with its ugly

Peninsula as a center’.

face of violence, military agendas and theft from historical sites in countries including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen

As a guest curator of the BEIRUT ART FAIR’s non-profit

and Libya, has generated an urgency: directing creative minds

exhibition, I have been interested in the relevance of artworks –

to reflect more intensely on life, resilience and beauty, despite

which need not be pessimistic – and in an art than reflects

the mental and physical chaos around them. So how do artists

the aesthetic, conceptual and socio-political concerns of the

from the region, mostly secular, respond to, express, offset or

Arab world over the last fifteen years; artworks that reflect,

avoid these turbulences, mercenary interventions, humiliation

preferably poignantly, beautifully, with grace and humor –

and surveillance?

those concerns. Hence the works suggest no theory-laden messages and no particular philosophy other than the artist’s

Curated through visits to some twenty private and institutional

own experience of life and essence of art in war torn zones.

collections in Lebanon, the exhibition Ourouba (Arabicity), The Eye of Lebanon at the BEIRUT ART FAIR 2017, focuses on artistic

In the current booming cultural scene of Beirut, where several

productions and acquisitions of the 21st century. It features

private museums are taking shape and some have already

installations, paintings, photography, video and sculptural works

opened3, Ourouba shows how artists and collectors, with

from more than forty artists from the Arab world.

different tastes and visions, challenge the confines of their identity and reshape the parameters of their cultural traditions.

Oussama Baalbaki, Portrait of Ayman Badreddine

For many in the West, the promotion and focus on the region’s

Acrylic on canvas, 180 x 150 cm, 2015

art began after the 1991 invasion of Iraq, that is why Alexandre

Following the success of ReOrientations, Contemporary Arab

Oil on canvas, 105 x 80 cm, 2014

Dr Ayman Badreddine Collection

Kazerouni, author of ‘Le Mirroir des cheikhs’ , who joins the

Representations, at the European Parliament in Brussels in

KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection

8

1

Marwan Sahmarani, Portrait of AK

9

Mona Hatoum Door Mat (Welcome) Stainless steel pins, nickel plated pins, glue and canvas, 3 x 71 x 40.5 cm, 1996 Private Collection, Š Mansour Dib

Selected works from private and public collections in Lebanon

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15

Mona Hatoum Door Mat (Welcome) Stainless steel pins, nickel plated pins, glue and canvas, 3 x 71 x 40.5 cm, 1996 Private Collection, Š Mansour Dib

Selected works from private and public collections in Lebanon

14

15

ayman baalbaki Barriers I

MEA

Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 94 cm, 2012

Mixed media on canvas, 200 x 400 cm, 2014-2015

Samir & Claude Abillama Collection, © Mansour Dib

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

24

25

ayman baalbaki Barriers I

MEA

Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 94 cm, 2012

Mixed media on canvas, 200 x 400 cm, 2014-2015

Samir & Claude Abillama Collection, © Mansour Dib

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

24

25

Tagreed darghouth Untitled

katya traboulsi Perpetual Identities – Palestine

Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 120 cm, 2015

Hand made brass, 75 x 25 cm, + base, 2016

Saradar Collection, © Agop Kanledjian

KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection, © Mansour Dib

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33

Tagreed darghouth Untitled

katya traboulsi Perpetual Identities – Palestine

Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 120 cm, 2015

Hand made brass, 75 x 25 cm, + base, 2016

Saradar Collection, © Agop Kanledjian

KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection, © Mansour Dib

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33

Nadia Safieddine Prédateur Oil on canvas, 200 x 180 cm, 2015 Dr Ayman Badreddine Collection

Serwan Baran Untitled Acrylic on canvas, 222 x 202.5 cm, 2014 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

Courtesy of Agial Gallery, Beirut, © Mansour Dib

34

35

Nadia Safieddine Prédateur Oil on canvas, 200 x 180 cm, 2015 Dr Ayman Badreddine Collection

Serwan Baran Untitled Acrylic on canvas, 222 x 202.5 cm, 2014 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

Courtesy of Agial Gallery, Beirut, © Mansour Dib

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35

Mahmoud Obaidi Farewell Kiss Mixed media on canvas, 113 x 113 x 15 cm, 2012 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

38

Zoulikha Bouabdellah Mirage I Stainless steel and car paint, 193 x 193 cm, 2011 Yola Noujaim Collection, © Mansour Dib

39

Mahmoud Obaidi Farewell Kiss Mixed media on canvas, 113 x 113 x 15 cm, 2012 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

38

Zoulikha Bouabdellah Mirage I Stainless steel and car paint, 193 x 193 cm, 2011 Yola Noujaim Collection, © Mansour Dib

39

Abdul rahman Katanani Wave Barbed wire, 200 x 400 cm, 2016 El-Nimer Collection

44

Beach House

The Girl with a Rope

Corrugated steel

Corrugated steel and barbed wire

Variable dimension, 2012

Variable dimension, 2011

Private Collection

Private Collection

45

Abdul rahman Katanani Wave Barbed wire, 200 x 400 cm, 2016 El-Nimer Collection

44

Beach House

The Girl with a Rope

Corrugated steel

Corrugated steel and barbed wire

Variable dimension, 2012

Variable dimension, 2011

Private Collection

Private Collection

45

raeda Saadeh Angel

Moving

Photograph mounted on aluminium, 120 x 100 cm, 2003

Photograph mounted on aluminium, 100 x 120 cm, 2003

El-Nimer Collection

El-Nimer Collection

48

49

raeda Saadeh Angel

Moving

Photograph mounted on aluminium, 120 x 100 cm, 2003

Photograph mounted on aluminium, 100 x 120 cm, 2003

El-Nimer Collection

El-Nimer Collection

48

49

Mahmoud shubBar

Untitled

Untitled

Mixed media on aluminium street sign

Mixed media on aluminium street sign, 80 x 120.5 cm, 2015

80 x 140.5 cm (left) and 180 x 121 cm (right), 2015

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

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61

Mahmoud shubBar

Untitled

Untitled

Mixed media on aluminium street sign

Mixed media on aluminium street sign, 80 x 120.5 cm, 2015

80 x 140.5 cm (left) and 180 x 121 cm (right), 2015

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

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61

Youssef abdelke Martyr’s Mother Charcoal on paper, 100 x 100 cm, 2012 Private collection, Courtesy of Galerie Tanit, Beirut

64

Tanya Bakalian safieddine Camps (Borj Hammoud) Mixed media, paint and collages on wood, 100 x 100 cm, 2012 KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection, Š Mansour Dib

65

Youssef abdelke Martyr’s Mother Charcoal on paper, 100 x 100 cm, 2012 Private collection, Courtesy of Galerie Tanit, Beirut

64

Tanya Bakalian safieddine Camps (Borj Hammoud) Mixed media, paint and collages on wood, 100 x 100 cm, 2012 KA Modern & Contemporary Art Collection, Š Mansour Dib

65

Nadim Asfar Temple de Ain Hersha, Jabal El Cheikh 2 Inkjet print on Fine art paper, 87 x 120 cm, 2011 Hubert Fattal Collection, Courtesy of the Artist

Randa Mirza Remaking the city Pigment ink on photo paper, 179 x 90 cm, 2011 Solidere Collection Courtesy of Galerie Tanit, Beirut

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Nadim Asfar Temple de Ain Hersha, Jabal El Cheikh 2 Inkjet print on Fine art paper, 87 x 120 cm, 2011 Hubert Fattal Collection, Courtesy of the Artist

Randa Mirza Remaking the city Pigment ink on photo paper, 179 x 90 cm, 2011 Solidere Collection Courtesy of Galerie Tanit, Beirut

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ziad dalloul Celebration of the Absent Oil on canvas, triptych, 194 x 129.5 cm each, 2013 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

ziad dalloul Celebration of the Absent Oil on canvas, triptych, 194 x 129.5 cm each, 2013 Ramzi & Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection

List of Artists Youssef Abdelke

Tanya Bakalian Safieddine

Abdul Rahman Katanani

Raeda Saadeh

(b. 1951, Qamishli, Syria) p. 64

(b. 1954, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 65

(b. 1983, Beirut, Lebanon, Palestinian) pp. 44-47

(b. 1977, Umm al-Fahm, Palestine) pp. 48-49

Adel Abidin

Serwan Baran

Hanaa Mallalah

Nadia Safieddine

(b. 1973, Baghdad, Iraq) pp. 40-41

(b. 1968, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 35

(b. 1958, Thee Qar, Iraq) p. 56

(b. 1973, Dakar, Senegal) p. 34

Ziad Abillama

Jean Boghossian

Ahmed Mater

Nada Sehnaoui

(b. 1969, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 71

(b. 1949, Aleppo, Syria, Armenian) p. 55

(b. 1979, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia) p. 66

(b. 1958, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 68-69

sadik kwaish alfraji

Zoulikha Bouabdellah

Randa Mirza

Amer Shomali

(b. 1960, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 63

(b. 1977, Moscow, Russia, Algerian/French) p. 39

(b. 1978, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 77

(b. 1981, Kuwait, Palestinian) p. 50

ziad antar

Ali Cherri

CLAUDE MOUFAREGE

Mahmoud ShubBar

(b. 1978, Saida, Lebanon) pp. 74-75

(b. 1976, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 67

(b. 1951, Dakar, Senegal) p. 70

(b. 1965, Babel, Iraq) pp. 54, 60-61

Nadim Asfar

Ziad Dalloul

Rabih Mroué

Hanibal Srouji

(b.1976, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 76

(b. 1953, Soueida, Syria) pp. 78-79

(b. 1967, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 73

(b. 1957, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 57

Kader Attia

Tagreed Darghouth

Nabil Nahas

Hady Sy

(b. 1970, Seine-Saint-Dugny, France) p. 62

(b. 1979, Saida, Lebanon) pp. 30-32

(b. 1949, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 18-20

(b. 1964, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 52-53

Ayman Baalbaki

Ali Omar Ermes

Mahmoud Obaidi

Katya Traboulsi

(b. 1975, Odeissé, Lebanon) pp. 22-25

(b. 1945, Tripoli, Libya) pp. 82-83

(b. 1966, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 38

(b. 1960, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 33

Mohamad Said Baalbaki

Mounir Fatmi

The atlas group (Walid Raad)

Sharif Waked

(b. 1974, Odeissé, Lebanon) pp. 5, 17, 28-29

(b. 1970, Tangier, Morocco) pp. 58-59

(b. 1967, Chbanieh, Lebanon) p. 72

(b. 1964, Nazareth, Palestine) pp. 42-43

Oussama Baalbaki

Mona Hatoum

Mohammad Rawas

Fadi Yazigi

(b. 1978, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 8, 36-37

(b. 1952, Beirut, Lebanon, Palestinian) pp. 15, 16, 51

(b.1951, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 87

(b. 1966, Latakiya, Syria) p. 7

Ginane Bacho

Marwan Kassab Bachi

Marwan Sahmarani

(b. 1947, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 21

(b. 1934 Damascus, Syria, d. 2016, Berlin) pp. 26-27

(b. 1970, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 9, 80-81

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85

List of Artists Youssef Abdelke

Tanya Bakalian Safieddine

Abdul Rahman Katanani

Raeda Saadeh

(b. 1951, Qamishli, Syria) p. 64

(b. 1954, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 65

(b. 1983, Beirut, Lebanon, Palestinian) pp. 44-47

(b. 1977, Umm al-Fahm, Palestine) pp. 48-49

Adel Abidin

Serwan Baran

Hanaa Mallalah

Nadia Safieddine

(b. 1973, Baghdad, Iraq) pp. 40-41

(b. 1968, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 35

(b. 1958, Thee Qar, Iraq) p. 56

(b. 1973, Dakar, Senegal) p. 34

Ziad Abillama

Jean Boghossian

Ahmed Mater

Nada Sehnaoui

(b. 1969, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 71

(b. 1949, Aleppo, Syria, Armenian) p. 55

(b. 1979, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia) p. 66

(b. 1958, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 68-69

sadik kwaish alfraji

Zoulikha Bouabdellah

Randa Mirza

Amer Shomali

(b. 1960, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 63

(b. 1977, Moscow, Russia, Algerian/French) p. 39

(b. 1978, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 77

(b. 1981, Kuwait, Palestinian) p. 50

ziad antar

Ali Cherri

CLAUDE MOUFAREGE

Mahmoud ShubBar

(b. 1978, Saida, Lebanon) pp. 74-75

(b. 1976, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 67

(b. 1951, Dakar, Senegal) p. 70

(b. 1965, Babel, Iraq) pp. 54, 60-61

Nadim Asfar

Ziad Dalloul

Rabih Mroué

Hanibal Srouji

(b.1976, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 76

(b. 1953, Soueida, Syria) pp. 78-79

(b. 1967, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 73

(b. 1957, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 57

Kader Attia

Tagreed Darghouth

Nabil Nahas

Hady Sy

(b. 1970, Seine-Saint-Dugny, France) p. 62

(b. 1979, Saida, Lebanon) pp. 30-32

(b. 1949, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 18-20

(b. 1964, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 52-53

Ayman Baalbaki

Ali Omar Ermes

Mahmoud Obaidi

Katya Traboulsi

(b. 1975, Odeissé, Lebanon) pp. 22-25

(b. 1945, Tripoli, Libya) pp. 82-83

(b. 1966, Baghdad, Iraq) p. 38

(b. 1960, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 33

Mohamad Said Baalbaki

Mounir Fatmi

The atlas group (Walid Raad)

Sharif Waked

(b. 1974, Odeissé, Lebanon) pp. 5, 17, 28-29

(b. 1970, Tangier, Morocco) pp. 58-59

(b. 1967, Chbanieh, Lebanon) p. 72

(b. 1964, Nazareth, Palestine) pp. 42-43

Oussama Baalbaki

Mona Hatoum

Mohammad Rawas

Fadi Yazigi

(b. 1978, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 8, 36-37

(b. 1952, Beirut, Lebanon, Palestinian) pp. 15, 16, 51

(b.1951, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 87

(b. 1966, Latakiya, Syria) p. 7

Ginane Bacho

Marwan Kassab Bachi

Marwan Sahmarani

(b. 1947, Beirut, Lebanon) p. 21

(b. 1934 Damascus, Syria, d. 2016, Berlin) pp. 26-27

(b. 1970, Beirut, Lebanon) pp. 9, 80-81

84

85

Ourouba, The Eye of Lebanon, reflects the aesthetic, conceptual and socio-political concerns of the Arab world over the last decade. This exhibition, at the Beirut Art Fair 2017, includes works from private and institutional collections in Lebanon. It explores themes relating to memory, destruction, reconstruction, conflict and peace – issues affecting the Arab world in the light of 21st century upheavals.

Across diverse media and subject matters, the works reflect the pulse of the region and how artists and collectors with different tastes and visions are challenging the confines of their identity and reshaping the parameters of their cultural traditions. In chaos they discover that which endures.

Rose Issa Projects