Having garnered his degree from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Beirut, Issa Halloum set sail for the shores of the Bera Academy in Milan to hone his mastery. This initiatory journey reaped him a medley of solo and collective exhibitions that blossomed both on Lebanese soil and beyond its borders.
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Enamored of the Beqaa Valley, that verdant land from whence he hails, Halloum ensnares its soul, fauna, and flora with the dexterity of a master craftsman. His canvases exude profuse landscapes of intoxicating textures, where resplendent colors and ethereal shapes waltz in the symphony. His deft brush strokes gently caress the oils, which he amalgamates like an alchemist, concocting singular hues that pay homage to the boundlessness of the canvas.
But Halloum’s artistic armamentarium does not culminate here; he also metamorphoses wood into delicate sculptures, coquettishly engaging with the surface and texture of the materials to evoke illusions of volume and shape.
A juggler of concepts, Halloum sweeps us into subtle interplays of space and depth while unfurling an array of techniques rooted in chromatic expressionism. A keen-eyed observer, he fervently scrutinizes movements and light, merging with these elements to weave scintillating tapestries that bear witness to the fleeting present.
His oeuvre also constitutes a heartfelt tribute to the traditions and maestros of art history, resonating with post-impressionists such as Cézanne and Gauguin, whom he holds in high esteem.
Halloum’s palette is an ocean of colors, brimming with intensity and expressiveness. His liberal brush imprints the canvas with vigorous arabesques. His paintings serve as a salve for the soul, symphonies of simplified forms and colors that unfurl in fluidity or richness, evoking a heartbeat’s palpitation. Whether he paints a landscape awash with light, a bustling market, an intimate alcove, or an anonymous visage, he captures the ephemeral while releasing an irrepressible exuberance. His canvases breathe and pulsate with life.
In this exhibition, it is his mural, a magnum opus spanning 9 meters in width, that takes our breath away. It is a pictorial epic unfolding through the season, reminiscent of a film reel tenderly depicting diverse scenes. Halloum guides us through his labyrinthine tapestry of visions.
The observer, like an intrepid voyager, is now ensnared within the canvas, where, borne aloft on the enchanted swirls of the painter’s brush, he transforms into an intrinsic element of the narration, even metamorphosing into a pulsating protagonist that whirls through the ethereal landscapes of the Beqaa.
Engulfed by the depth of the canvas, we penetrate the enchanting ambience it unfurls, becoming nearly symbiotic with the painter’s emotions. We surf a surge of sensations, ranging from the voluptuous warmth of the fervid colors of a summer landscape to the conflagration of a mountain in autumn, whose foliage seems to dance in a blazing ballet, before we find ourselves confronting a wintry scene, where the cold is counterpoised by colors that speak with audacity.
At times, we find ourselves submerged in exuberant scenes, and then, as though time decelerates, we come to a halt before an intimate close-up of a persimmon tree. Here, the sense of hearing seems to sharpen, and we discern the chirping of the birds, sentinels of the plain, who observe with us this sanctuary so dear to the heart of the painter and poet.
As Issa Halloum breathes life into his environs upon the canvas, an irresistible yearning overcomes us: that of dashing through the fields, feeling the earth’s breath beneath our feet, and wrapping ourselves in the tranquility of a world caressed by colors bearing hope and renewal. It is a transcendental experience, a symphony for the spirit, where each note is orchestrated by the gaze.
Issa Halloum’s paintings are portals to parallel universes, books with golden pages, or films with sumptuous scripts. To enter his exhibition is to cross the threshold into another world, to be invited to traverse the paths of the Beqaa, and to touch, with infinite tenderness, the emotions that emanate therefrom.
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