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The architect and artist Amine Jules Iskandar will unveil a retrospective marking 45 years of his painting career, spanning from 1979 to 2023. This exhibition will be held at the Charles Corm Foundation, near the Beirut Museum, from December 16th to 23rd, 2023, between 3 PM and 7 PM.
As a professional architect, Amine Jules Iskandar blends his expertise with his talent as an artist and writer. Since the inception of Ici Beyrouth, his involvement has reflected a profound interest in heritage, language, and particularly the history of Lebanon. He has excelled in studying the Syriac Maronite cultural, artistic, and architectural heritage. His studio, Trifora, established in Lebanon in 1998, specializes in designing villas that merge traditional and contemporary styles. Concurrently, through his drawings and paintings, he delves into key themes of Lebanese history and spirituality, seeking a spiritual identity in art while also exploring language, writing, and architecture.
Iskandar’s retrospective exhibition is a celebration of his entire body of work, offering a journey through time, into the history, heritage, and spirituality of Lebanon. “My architecture primarily focuses on traditional or modern houses, embedded in gardens that aim to enrich the landscape and root themselves within it,” explains Iskandar. “My literature is a continuous search for spiritual identity in art, language, writing, and architecture. My painting, on the other hand, completes this discourse by expressing the inexpressible, the true calling of art.”
He adds, “Architecture, literature, and painting are the tools that articulate the soul of Lebanon.” Several painting series will be presented, reflecting the diversity of his work. The “Kafno” series, meaning hunger in Syriac, portrays the suffering endured during the wars of the 1970s and 1980s. The “Triptychs” series invites a face-to-face encounter with characters from the frescoes of medieval churches in Mount Lebanon.
Iskandar also experiments in his art with sacred mediums and themes in a secular manner. In the “Icons” series, he reinterprets the hieratic verticality of characters with secular and abstract themes, incorporating the Syriac inscriptions from the frescoes of medieval churches in Mount Lebanon. With the “Gold and Light” series, he experiments with relief and gold effects on sacred themes. Finally, he evokes the symbol of Lebanon and the notion of roots through his “Cedars” and “Roots” series.
“My work is a hymn to the beauty and love of Lebanon,” concludes Amine Iskandar. This exhibition, bringing together work done in Kuwait, Paris, Versailles, and Lebanon, is a realization of his quest for the soul of Lebanon.
The opening will take place on December 16th at 4 PM. To follow his latest updates, visit @triforaarchitecture.
