LEBANON | UNTITLED, a collaboration between Janet Rady Fine Art and Artscoops, the leading online platform for MENA art, will present over 50 artworks of note, including paintings, mixed media pieces and sculptures, in what marks the largest showcase of Lebanese art in London to date.
Forming part of Cromwell Place’s Middle East curated moments for June, LEBANON | UNTITLED also marks Artscoops’ debut exhibition outside Lebanon.
Renowned artists featured include Willy Aractingi, Zena Assi, Alfred Basbous, Helen Khal and Nadia Saikali.
Notable highlights include Aractingi’s painting ‘The Crow and the Fox’, from his well-known series illustrating the fables of Jean de La Fontaine, a small oil on canvas by Assadour Bezdikian and a meticulously detailed figurative piece in Chinese ink on canvas by the celebrated artist Laure Ghorayeb.
A hand-built ceramic work by the multidisciplinary, prize-winning artist Zena Assi, titled ‘Beirut I Love You’, and an acrylic on wood by Huguette Caland,known for her sensual portrayal of the female form, are among the other pieces of note.
Oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm.
The exhibition will also present key works by Hussein Madi, known for combining abstract design with Islamic art-inspired motifs, and Juliana Séraphim, whose evocative, dreamlike imagery is derived from childhood memories.
Alongside the exhibition of artworks, LEBANON | UNTITLED will feature live talks by three of the participating artists, including Zad Moultaka, the pioneering prize-winning composer and multimedia artist, who will share his thoughts at the Preview and VIP opening on Tuesday, 6 June.
Acrylic on linen canvas, 115 x 85 cm.
On Wednesday, 7 June, from 6pm to 7pm, Lana Khayat will track her artist’s journey, sharing her early longing to find wonder and frugality in her art, in a talk titled ‘Space and Legitimacy in Creating Art as a Woman Artist’. In the second short talk, on Thursday, 8 June, from 6pm to 6.30pm, titled ‘Words to Paint the Invisible’, Joumana Medlej will discuss her use of visual power from a lost calligraphic tradition to give her compositions meaning and explain how she selects and prepares materials to achieve her aims.
Explaining the idea behind the name of the exhibition, Raya Mamarbachi, co-founder, Artscoops, said the team had felt it was important to find a title that reflected Lebanon’s perpetual state of transition.
“We knew it was essentialto let the art speak for itself rather than risk setting a pre-determined narrative with audiences,” she explained. “Knowing that we’re being joined for this exciting next step on our journey in the UK by Janet Rady, who has supported Artscoops since our launch in 2015, makes this show extra special.”
Ink, pastel, oil stick on canvas, 76 x 88 cm.
May Mamarbachi, co-founder, Artscoops, said she was thrilled that Lebanese artists were being given an opportunity to showcase their talent on a major platform and strengthen their reach in the UK, which is home to a sizeable Lebanese diaspora and significant number of international collectors.
“Lebanon has a thriving contemporary art scene, built on a rich artistic heritage, which deserves the level of international recognition that our exhibition will offer,” she said. “I’m incredibly proud of this exciting group of Lebanese artists and, at the same time, ecstatic to be bringing a welcome ‘good news’ story from Lebanon to the UK.”
Janet Rady added that London’s status as an established centre for Middle Eastern art made it the ideal location choice for what marks the city’s first major exhibition of modern and contemporary Lebanese art.
“I am delighted to be co-organising what is undoubtedly a milestone show and teaming up for this timely collaboration with Artscoops, which is recognised as the foremost platform for showcasing and selling Middle Eastern art in Lebanon and internationally,” she added.
Oil on canvas, 89 x 128 cm.
For more information on Artscoops and its year-round programme, visit https://artscoops.com/ and follow Artscoops on Instagram @ art scoops.
