Personal Statement
I'm based in Beirut and London.
My architectural training informs my interest in light and space. I make sketches from life, and often supported by photos, filter these experiences through memory in the studio. I combine thick impasto oil and thin watercolour washes. Paint is brushed, dripped, flicked, scraped, slashed and wiped to achieve visceral expressions of meaning and movement.
I'm interested in blurring the boundaries between realism and abstraction, and the paradox of capturing a sense of time and inner light in a still image.
I explore the symbolism of narrative motifs, suggesting dramatic contrasts in the city and the coexistence of pain and joy. I often suggest childhood memories, the collective amnesia that often happens during and after challenging events and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Whilst these are the main concerns of my studio practice, I often exhibit paintings as site specific installations which grow from the buildings I work in. My exhibitions are immersive experiences which go well beyond the illusion of a two dimensional image. By transforming abandoned spaces into living centers of creativity, I hope to preserve precious heritage and memory which is under threat from profit driven development and contribute something positive to the place I live in. This concern for wider society informs my collaborations with disadvantaged children.
Art doesn't exist in isolation. Where religion and politics divide us, Art offers us a common ground and a peaceful path of expression.
Biography
2020
Exhibition (forthcoming) Revival at Hammam Al Jadeed, Saida Old Souq, Lebanon
Exhibitions about the Lebanese Protest Movement 'Thawra' at Beit Beirut, Janine Rubeiz Gallery and ArtScene Gallery (@392Rmeil393, Beirut)
Travel to Egypt to paint
2019
Exhibition at Rayak Train Factory, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Travel to Armenia to paint
Lecture Art of Healing about the transformative power of art at medical conference, International Society of Paediatric Oncology (in association with Chance Association- Children with Cancer, Lebanon)
2018
Exhibition of artworks, installations and partial renovation of Sofar Grand Hotel,Lebanon, featuring a month of on site musical, theatrical performances and artwork shops for local schools, refugee camps, orphanages and Universities.
The Grand Sofar Hotel
Exhibition of artworks incoordination with the British Embassy in aid of Rebecca Dykes Foundation in Lebanon and Royal Opera Arcade Gallery,London
Lecture at Soho House (Mayfair), London Art and Intervention in Beirut
Lecture at Levantine Heritage Foundation The Lost Levantine Houses of Beirut, London
Lecture at the British Academy,London Troublemaker, Liberator, Scapegoat, Spears In Lebanon 1941 -1944
Keynote speaker on Art andTransformation in Lebanon, Sarajevo, Bosnia Why Remember? Ruins, Remains, Reconstructions International Conference
Produce and co-direct film about Lebanese Independence and General Spears titled The Painter and the General (Work in Progress)
2017
Exhibition at Al Zaher, Beirut
Lecture at the American University of Beirut Museum 'House Of Spears'
Exhibition 'Full Circle' at Haigazian University, Beirut
2016
Residency and teach art workshops to children of Dar Al Aytam orphanage at Al Zaher, Zarif, Beirut
Lecture, Film screening and Exhibition at Alwan For The Arts, New York City
Exhibition Spectrum at British Embassy Residence, Lebanon
Art Residencies in Beit Boustani and Holiday Inn, Beirut
Exhibition 'Flowers Of Lebanon', 54 The Gallery, London
2015
Collaboration 'Tyre Art Jam' - a collaboration with Lebanese children, and Syrian and Palestinian Refugee children at Al Bass Roman Hippodrome, Tyre, South Lebanon. The resiulting stop motion animation film of the project is screened at 'Archeolife' Film Festival, Cagliari, Italy.
Exhibition at La Magnanerie, Beirut
2014
Exhibition At The Rose House in Beirut- transforming an iconic empty mansion in Beirut into an exhibition venue and cultural center for 3 months.
Exhibition ‘Talk Peace Act Love’ at CAP Kuwait
Symposium Al Asmakh International Art Symposium in Doha, Qatar
2013
Exhibition 'Fairground' at British Embassy Residence, Lebanon in aid of SOS Children's Villages, Lebanon.
Art Workshops with children from SOS Children's Villages, Lebanon.
Produce 4 short films, 'Carousel', 'The Beat Goes On', 'Out Of Armenia' and 'SOS- Hayda Libnen'.
Exhibition Carousel at Villa Paradiso in Beirut. Help to restore an abandoned mansion that had been derelict for 40 years, transforming it into a venue for the exhibition. The villa has since become a permanent center for the Arts.
Teaching Painting and Drawing at the Art Market Academy in Venice, to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
2012
Exhibition of London Paintings at Avenue, St James's, London.
Commission to paint the Olympic Broadcasting Services Building, London Olympic Village. 300 signed prints of the painting presented to heads of the world's media at Games Opening Ceremony.
Commission to collaborate on a live art performance about the Royal Jubilee River Pageant from roof of City of Westminster School, London.
Commissions to paint in New York, London and Oman.
Screening of 'Beirut Art Jam' at 'Whitewall' street art exhibition at Beirut Art Centre and Das Scharf International Film Showcase, Berlin.
2011
Exhibition of landscapes at Gabala International Art Exhibition, Azerbaijan.
Exhibition new paintings at Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut.
Collaboration with artists Dominic Madden and Noor Haydar on stop motion painting animation 'Beirut Art Jam'.
Teaching art and music workshops at Al Kamandjati School, Bourj al Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut
2010
Exhibition 'Road to Damascus' series of paintings at St Pauls Cathedral 300 year anniversary exhibition, St Pauls, London.
Exhibition 'Portraits of Beirut' at Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut
Commission to paint public mural, Saifi, Downtown Beirut
Teaching art workshops at SOS Children's villages, Lebanon
2009
Exhibition Group show of paintings at Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut
Commission to paint landscapes in Andalucia, Spain
Exhibition of French and Moroccan landscapes at Le Grenier aux Artistes, Roquecor, France.
2008
Commission to paint landscapes of Jerusalem and the West Bank for Al Quds Media head office
Exhibition '12 centuries of Fez, Morocco' at Unesco, Paris
Teach drawing and painting course, South West France
Exhibition 'The Thames', Russell Gallery, London
Exhibition about Lebanon 'Resilient Spirit', Indar Pasricha Fine Art, London
Commissions to paint landscapes in India, Lebanon and England
2007
Exhibition 'From London to the Levant', Adam Street Club, the Strand, London
Exhibition 'A Select Six', Oakham Gallery, St James's, London
Commission to paint landscapes in India, Morocco, Mallorca, Italy and England
2006
Exhibition 'I Love Beirut', Adam Street Club, the Strand, London
Exhibition 'Moods of London', West Eleven Gallery, Notting Hill, London
Exhibition paintings about London in a touring exhibition in Berlin, Barcelona and Milan
Commission to paint landscapes in Lebanon and Syria
Teach drawing workshops with children in Dahiye, Beirut
2005
Exhibition 'The Thames', Russell Gallery, London
Exhibition 'Metropolis', Rainbird Fine Art, Clerkenwell, London
Commission to paint landscapes in Venice, France and Cumbria
Architecture project artist to visualise the National Army Arboritum for Liam O'Connor Architects, London
2004
Exhibition 'Cityworks', Artbank Gallery, Clerkenwell, London
Exhibitions new city paintings at Artbank, Russell and St'art Galleries, London
2003
Exhibition new work with St'art Gallery at New York (Armoury), Dublin, Glasgow and Chelsea Art Fairs
2002
Exhibition 'From Life', Gallery 54, Mayfair, London
Exhibition at Cusp Gallery, Burghley House, London
Exhibition 'Landscapes and Nudes', Chateau de l'Hoste, France
2001
Exhibition of figurative work, 'Living Presence', Oxo Tower Gallery, South Bank, London
Exhibition of nudes, 'Body', Coningsby Gallery, Soho, London
Commission to paint cityscapes in Rome
2000
Exhibition of French and Italian landscapes, Hall and Knight Gallery, New York
Exhibition 'From Abstraction to Landscape', Studio 115, Oxo Tower, South Bank, London
Exhibition of Abstract work 'Blu r red', Oxo Tower Gallery, South Bank, London
1999
Exhibition of landscapes, private residence, New York
Exhibition 'Soul Music', African American Art Fair, Philadelphia
Commission to paint Western Wall in Jerusalem
1998
Commission to paint Sainte Chapelle in Paris for Mellon Foundation private collection, USA
1997
Exhibition 'Spanish landscapes', private residence, London
Residency Gallery coordinator and artist, Valencia, Spain
1996
Found and manage Fusion Art Collective, Newcastle
Education
1992-5: BA(Hons) Architectural Studies, Newcastle University
(time spent studying in Istanbul and Prague during the degree)
1991-2: Foundation Studies in Art and Design, Norwich School of Art
1986-91: Uppingham School, England
1973: DOB, England