A year has already passed. Despite the turbulence stirring the region and contributing to a heavy atmosphere, Lebanon continues to demonstrate its determination to persevere, relying on various celebrations to combat fate and dispel fear and anxiety.
From December 14, 2023 to January 13, 2024, Chaos Gallery, which was inaugurated at the beginning of December 2022, is celebrating its first anniversary. This year has been eventful, filled with numerous exhibitions showcasing a wide range of talents and artistic expression. Paintings and sculptures have brought this exceptional place to life, adorning it with their bright and radiant colors. The gallery’s proteges have returned for a festive retrospective.
Among the 20 or so established or emerging artists, the following painters are notably included: Jad el-Khoury, whose canvases are filled with amusing clustered creatures, allowing a character or circular shape to stand out from the rest, emphasizing its uniqueness. Haïfa el-Khodr presents a series of black and white paintings, where a central figure holding a bouquet stands out against a white background, quickly sketched in a tangle of black lines and colored spots, giving the impression of a vibrant canvas full of energy and movement.
Hoda Baalbaki celebrates nature with a zest for life in a Fauvist style, where tree trunks, red or blue, rise towards the sky, and flowers burst forth in a profusion of colors. Yolande Naufal adopts a naive style to depict rural charm in all its cultural manifestations, with everyday scenes brightened by vivid colors, combining softness and nostalgia.
Haïfa Hobeiche pays tribute to the Cedar of Lebanon, which she depicts with a commanding trunk, symbolizing strength and permanence. The tree, with its fiery sap and leaves blazing in red and green, represents either a cry of triumph or despair. In contrast, Missak Terzian invites the viewer into an abstract cosmic universe, playing with flat areas of bright primary colors. The bronze sculptures of Karine Hochar embody welcoming or protective angels, while the patinated bronze birds of Sabine Karam, stylized, invite us to aerial elegance. Another work by the artist, depicting a mysterious female silhouette, evokes a paradox between essence and appearance, substance and form, prompting reflection on a universal cure.
These works, along with others not mentioned here, remind us that art also makes life a celebration we greatly need. The exhibition presents itself as a prelude to Christmas, bearing joy and hope, heralding festivities to come.
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