Kasa Gallery presents works of three Lebanese artists Ayman Baalbaki, Tagreed Darghouth and Omar Fakhoury between dates 26 November – 10 January.
Ayman Baalbaki perhaps points to the major issue handled by contemporary Lebanese art while saying ‘I am a part of a generation of artists and writers who have been living with war and have nothing to say but about war’. In his paintings he invites the viewer to think about destruction and chaos which seem infinite, and in his installation Kalam Faregh here at Kasa Gallery Baalbaki refers to dead end day to day politics which are no longer able to produce any convincing meaning by using banners with well-worn slogans often seen on the streets of Beirut.
Artistic production in Lebanon received an international inerest starting from late 1980s, by growing numbers of photographic and video works. In the exhibition video artist Omar Fakhoury employs the repetition of a certain element as a mechanism of his own way of story telling in his works Innocence and Lira-Dolar which is about the dramatic rise and fall of Lebanese currency since 1979.
Tagreed Darghouth in her paintings which are exhibited for the first time here, uses the passive, fragile dolls as hollow images which can nevertheless be confused with the images of real human figures. According to Darghouth the exhibition ‘Empty Speech’ ‘unmasks our tendencies, as Lebanese, to simplify, over look, and hide behind our unsolved issues. In the favour of a non-sense morning typical lebanese ritual of having cofee and chewing silly talks.
Ayman Baalbaki 1975, Odeissé, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut. After graduating from Painting and Sculpting at the Institute of Fine Art, Lebanese University, Beirut in 1998, continued his masters and doctoral studies at Paris Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and Paris VIII. Participated in many group exhibitions in Paris and Beirut. Had hids fifth solo exhibition "Tranfigurations Apocalyptiques” in 2008 at Agial Gallery, Beirut.
Tagreed Darghouth 1979, Saida, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut. Graduated from Lebanese University, Beirut in 2000. In 2003 completed her studies on spatial art at Paris Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Participated in group exhibitions in Lebanon, Jordan, France and Argentina. Since 2004 she exhibited her work in four solo shows in Beirut.
Omar Fakhoury Lives in Beit Chabab. Between 2002-2004 at Paris I and Paris VIII universities completed his art studies. Since 2006 teaches video art, multimedia and animation courses at University of Holy Spirit in Kaslik, Institut National des Beaux Arts II, Lebanese University. At Le Tarmac (Parc de la villette), Paris and at Goethe Institute (German Cultural Centre), Beirut he had solo exhibitions. Participated at group shows in Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and Beirut.
Opening: 26 November 2008, 18:30h
Sabancı Üniversitesi İletişim Merkezi Kasa Galeri,Bankalar cad.No:2 Karaköy- İstanbul
For Info: kasagaleri@sabanciuniv.edu tel: 0212 292 49 39