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After a rich journey of exhibitions from Miami to Beirut, Magali Katra is returning to the United States to hold a solo exhibition at The Ven, Embassy Row, in Washington, DC, until April 29.
This exhibition is organized by Bridging Brushes, under the energetic direction of Danielle Moussalli who fervently supports Lebanese artists on the American capital’s art scene.
The curator of the exhibition is none other than Dr. Tony Karam, who continues his philanthropic mission across oceans and continents to highlight Lebanese talent.
A particularly admirable Lebanese talent, artist Magali Katra, sends through her beautiful works a message of hope for a modern society that should not crumble.
Sui Generis Society, which means in Latin “a society unique in its kind,” is the title of Katra’s solo exhibition, in which she dreams of a society whose entire community lives in harmony, in a group dynamic that progresses towards the better.
The artist believes that each individual is a being advancing on their personal life path, with specific events marking this passage.
These events, whether positive or negative, are chapters that punctuate everyone’s lives. These chapters are represented by a recurring element in this series of displayed canvases: the square.
The square that regularly appears in these paintings is this geometric shape with defined contours, intended to reflect the different chapters or passages of life.
Whether they are long or short, happy or unhappy, they represent life cycles. Each being traverses them in their own way, knowing that others also go through these stages, perceptibly similar.
Hence the respect for others in this society, hence the effort to move forward together because unity is strength and brings balance.
The artist believes that we must support and help each other as human beings, in order not to crumble.
In her canvases, white spaces also manifest themselves as passages of life. The aesthetically composed shapes are daily experiences, and the silhouettes, painted with such precision, are the human beings moving through this society.
Katra also addresses the concept of loneliness. She invites a solitary character to join a group on a canvas because she is convinced that this generates more shared happiness.
According to her, it’s also about knowing how to choose people similar to us to be better surrounded and to live in harmony.
However, she believes that even though everyone has their own identity, it is important to respect differences and communicate with an open and accepting mind.
The challenge is to remain authentic and not try to copy others just to please them and be part of a generalized image.
Through her pure lines and vivid colors, highlighted by the glide of her precise and fine brush that draws these unique silhouettes, a now-international Magali Katra signature, this exhibition is a call to create this exemplary and hopeful sui generis society.
Each canvas is indeed a message, an idea about this better world the artist dreams of.
The visit is above all a moment of escape and pure admiration for the fantastic power of this art that unfolds from canvas to canvas, where even an eclipse manages to highlight two works that the artist paints live, between light and dark.
