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In a world where art stands as a testament to the tumults of our era, renowned Lebanese artist Bassam Geitani invites us into profound introspection through his exhibition Dans le creux du chaos (In the Hollow of Chaos) at the Galerie Janine Rubeiz. Nadine Majdalani Begdache beckons art enthusiasts to the opening on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The exhibition will continue until April 5, 2024.
Born in 1962 in Riyaq, in the Bekaa Valley, Geitani, who holds a Master’s degree in Art from the University of Paris I – Sorbonne, lived and worked in Paris for over a decade. He has chosen Beirut, a city marked by history and resilience, as his living and creative space. A professor of fine arts at the Lebanese American University (LAU), he enriches the artistic universe with his multidisciplinary approach, navigating between painting, installation, cinema and performance.
Throughout his remarkable career, he has organized various solo exhibitions and participated in collective exhibitions in several cities such as Washington, Beirut, Paris, London and Abu Dhabi. His exhibitions with Galerie Janine Rubeiz are numerous: Psychology of Matter in 1998, The Unfolding in 2001, Sweats of Steel in 2007, The Pendulum in 2011, Wink in 2014, Shathaya in 2015, Nature Nature in 2019 and In the Hollow of Chaos in 2024. He also took part in the exhibition Brushes for Pens in 2006, benefiting the National Library of Lebanon Foundation.
His work has been showcased in various fairs and cultural centers, such as Art Dubai, the Sursock Museum, Artist’s View in London, Francophone Faces in Cahors, France, Rebirth at the Beirut Exhibition Center and during the Abu Dhabi Art Fair in 2016, where his installation Shathaya was exhibited for six months at Manarat Al-Saadiyat. Bassam Geitani’s works were part of Christie’s auction sales in Dubai in 2006 and 2007 and have been acquired by private collections in Lebanon and France, as well as by the British Museum. The exhibition In the Hollow of Chaos unfolds as a quest for meaning in the rubble of existence, questioning collective memory and our ability to face tragedies. The artist describes it as “a captivating journey that explores collective memory and our responsibility towards tragedies.”
Through a series of poignant works, Bassam Geitani invites viewers to reflect on the scars left by the August 4, 2020 explosion in Beirut, using materials from the catastrophe to forge messages of hope and renewal. “This exhibition serves as a visual metaphor for the chaos and devastation that struck Beirut. It reminds us that the explosion has left indelible marks on the lives of those affected, while similarly imprinting our collective understanding of the event. By utilizing elements typical of the tragic explosion in Beirut and creating these white canvases that evoke notions of purity and innocence yet also denote an absence of clarity and truth, my aim is to provoke intense reflection on the devastating consequences of tragedies and on the necessity of building a future marked by peace, resilience and overcoming chaos,” states Bassam Geitani. The artist’s universe explores genesis and resonances. This exhibition, beyond its aesthetic dimension, stands as a vibrant call for resilience and reflection.
