Pop-up gallery AD Leb hosts outdoor exhibition at ancient archaeological site
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 8, 2024


Pop-up gallery AD Leb hosts outdoor exhibition at ancient archaeological site
Installation view - works by Adrian Pepe. Photo by Vartan Seraydarian.



BEIRUT.- Lost in the right direction is the second exhibition from Art Design Lebanon (AD Leb), a cultural space and digital platform dedicated to supporting cultural and artistic production in Lebanon and the surrounding region. Contemporary works by established and emerging artists, designers, and artisans are displayed at an archaeological site in the mountains east of Beirut in a rare, public outdoor exhibition.

A combination of sculptures, photography, drawings, textiles, and design interventions are installed across Deir El Kalaa – a Roman temple complex in the village of Beit Meri dating back to the first century A.D. – with a striking contrast between the contemporary and the ancient. By encouraging organic collaborations between the thirty-seven participating artists, designers, artisans, and collectives, AD Leb aims to dismantle stereotypes that divide these disciplines and to challenge the convention of exhibiting them separately. Amongst the varied artworks, recurrent themes include nature and the Lebanese landscape, political turmoil and the upheaval of the pandemic, traditions and rituals, the passage of time, loss, memory, and hope.

Visual artist Nathaniel Rackowe drew inspiration and forms from two unrealized design works by Gaïa Fodoulian to produce the sculptural, abstract piece Drop by Drop. It was partly influenced by Fodoulian’s preparatory drawings for a work inspired by the stalagmites in the Jeita Grotto, Lebanon.




The fractured lines of stainless steel beams – echoing the ruins and disintegrated structures at Deir El Kalaa – are tipped with drops of light, pointing to a hopeful future. Fiber Artist Adrian Pepe collaborated with Bisat Al Rih, a group of Lebanese craftswomen who work with wool and use traditional loomweaving techniques for the creation of carpets and tapestries. Through a process of spinning, hand embroidering, and felting, the wool is transformed into artefacts laden with emotion, mythology and symbolism. Pepe presents an embroidered Sky Map – inspired by the way shepherds relied on stars for guidance – within a curated space. A floor to ceiling woolen macrocosm, it references felt as the original textile, and its interconnection with ancient nomadic traditions. In these uncertain times, Pepe’s works evoke a dormant, more tangible understanding of nature and a primal, grounded form of existence. Emerging artist Christine Safatly presents drawings and multimedia assemblages – including charcoal, oil paint, sugar, latex, wire, fabric, and cardboard, amongst other materials – which explore gendered corporeality, forms of alienation, and collective socioeconomic struggles, informed by her life experiences as a woman in Lebanon.

To facilitate a holistic approach, the participating creatives were given tours by archaeology professor Assaad Seif to inform their works. This has resulted in pieces which both draw inspiration from and channel the energy of Deir El Kalaa, contributing to AD Leb’s goal of reviving a rich historical site and adapting a public outdoor space – something significantly lacking in Lebanon – for people to enjoy. Within the framework of the exhibition, workshops will also take place where artisanal practices and products will be showcased, shedding light on the importance of preserving and sustaining these endangered crafts.

The exhibition’s title – Lost in the right direction – is a quote drawn from Gaïa Fodoulian’s Instagram page. An emerging designer herself, Gaïa developed the idea for AD Leb in early 2020 before her untimely death following the Beirut port explosion of 4 August that year. At the end of another turbulent year for Lebanon, this show offers a chance to connect and instigates a vital dialogue around the purpose and hope that can be found in creativity. The title also resonates more widely with global events following an unprecedented time throughout the pandemic. Whilst we are adapting and seeking direction in a constantly shifting reality, we can find new meaning through artistic expression and via the broad perspective provided by history and culture.

Annie Vartivarian, Director of AD Leb, said: Directed by Gaïa’s vision, our work is focused on promoting local and regional creatives – artists, designers, architects, artisans, and makers – as well as championing the preservation of heritage territory and shedding light on forgotten spaces; creating dialogue between all creative forms; encouraging artists and designers to stay in Lebanon; and supporting the wider community through art, design, craft, and history.

Participating artists, designers, artisans and makers: Elias and Yousef Anastas; Lara Baladi; Huda Baroudi; Bisat Al Rih; Samer Bou Rjeily; Claudia Chahine; Karen Chekerdjian; Nohad El Daher; Oliver De Gem; Gilbert Debs; Nada Debs; Gaïa Fodoulian; Nouhad Hannaddaher; Maria Hibri; Hatem Imam; Rina Jaber; Roger Gemayel Lighting; Khalife Glass (Nisrine Khalife); Mohamad Kanaan; Natasha Karam; Marm Group (Elia Lukas); Elie Morcos; Ricardo Mbarkho; Kamil Mrad; Hussein Nassereddine; Opus Magnum Gallery; Adrian Pepe; Nathaniel Rackowe; Pierre Rajha; Safa Group (Marwan Bou Ghanem); Mahmoud Safadi; Christine Safatly; Roula Salamoun; Ieva Saudargaitė Douaihi; Caroline Tabet; Sibylle Tarazi; and Christian Zahr.










Today's News

December 27, 2021

After hurricanes and pandemic, a New Orleans museum fights to hold on

Gillian Laub's Divided House is still standing. What about yours?

Roland Auctions NY announces special New Year's Day "Multiple Estates" auction event on January 1st

Wayne Thiebaud, playful painter of the everyday, dies at 101

Centre Pompidou presents an all-encompassing exhibition of the work of Georg Baselitz

The Musée Marmottan Monet presents the first exhibition ever dedicated to Julie Manet

Exhibition examines the under-told histories of California through maps, caricatures, city views, and landscape scenes

Master Drawings New York celebrate Mexican Muralism with special in-person panel and exhibition

The FLAG Art Foundation presents 'In Search of the Miraculous'

How many books does it take to make a place feel like home?

Templon announces representation of Jeanne Vicerial

Boba Fett, intergalactic man of mystery

How Nicole Kidman learned to love playing Lucille Ball

Pop-up gallery AD Leb hosts outdoor exhibition at ancient archaeological site

New Orleans Museum of Art presents career retrospective for acclaimed New Orleans artist

Catherine was great. But was she a girl boss?

Orange County Museum of Art to open with free admission

The Met Opera spirits 'Rigoletto' to 'Babylon Berlin'

The world-renowned Burrell Collection to reopen March 2022

Françoise Pétrovitch takes over the Fonds Hélène et Edouard Leclerc in Landerneau

Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire opens an exhibition of works by Tania Mouraud

Lafayette Anticipations presents an exhibition of works by Martin Margiela

Asheville Art Museum presents 'Ruminations on Memory'

Immersive light and sound exhibition activates Grounds For Sculpture during winter evenings

"Muktupolis(Eat-and-Go Police) - The first Food-Police in Korea"




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful