Betty Yaghi

When the Sky Fell Down

Since the 1940s, the Egyptian painter Hamed Abdalla is not only a visionary pioneer of modern art for the global south and Arab countries; he is also one of the first of his generati...

Antonio Asis was born in 1932 in Buenos Airs, Argentina. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, from where he obtained his doctorate degree in 1950. In 1956, he travel...

Mobile reliefs with moving patterns operated by motors that alter space-colour ratios, initially in black and white and later colour. Very slowly, the parts changed, were separated a...

Since the 1940s, the Egyptian painter Hamed Abdalla is not only a visionary pioneer of modern art for the global south and Arab countries; he is also one of the first of his generation to envision painting as political art and activism. The current display focuses on a specific time of defeat and disillusion for a whole generation of Arab artists and intellectuals, in the aftermath of the “Six Days War” led by Israel and their allies (a war title which a lot of Arab activists consider propagandist, preferring to call it “The Defeat of 1967” or simply the “June 1967 War”). This persistent ideological wound became the symbol of failed dreams for the “Arab Nation” or Arab states alliances – including the short but emblematic Egyptian-Syrian achievement of the United Arab Republic. Another major failure, to which Abdalla will respond through the paintings on display here, is the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat program of “opening up” (Infitah) the Egyptian economy and give way to political compromise with the US and Israel – Abdalla assimilating this period to a vast state of Coma for all Arab people and territories. In a collective statement by a group of Egyptian artists exiled in Paris (including Abdalla), published in the Egyptian local journal Al-Dustur, on 5 December 1977, one can read: “This disaster is far greater than the defeat of June 1967. Rather, it approaches the scale of the disaster that took place in 1948 (…) To destroy the Arab people’s noble three decades-long struggle against imperialism and Zionism (…) Sadat is exploiting the stifling economic crisis that Egypt is currently facing (…) We must resist this betrayal of our nation or be crushed under the wheels of global imperialism for generations to come.” The works presented here reflect Abdalla’s transformation of the Hurrufiyyah aesthetics, to achieve his own way of “Arab Letterism”. It claims for a deeply experimental, non-decorative, politically committed and non-commercial use of the Arabic letter...

George Merheb was born in Lebanon in 1960 where he currently works and resides. He obtained a Master’s degree in Drawing and Painting from the Lebanese University of Beirut, Lebanon....

Following a visit to the Paris studio of Yves Klein in 1957, Bernard Aubertin was inspired to follow in Klein’s footsteps and passionately work within the field of monochromy, a styl...

100 Rainbow Hearts is an all-inclusive, lively and energizing piece of art that is suitable for all diverse and all inclusive communities as a publicly displayed art, or as an intima...

Clem$ Butterfly Woman - 2019 Acrylic painting on canvas frame 120 x 120 cms Signed with certificat. 6000 euros

Curiosity of Saltinbanks 2020 acrylic technique and inks 80x80 work on frame

The vertical waves, expressed through bold and expressive stripes, create an immersive experience, drawing the viewer into a dynamic dance of color and form. This work is signed by A...

An abstract painting of a round shape, made in blue, creates a serene atmosphere reminiscent of the limitless sky. Its clean, geometric style lends a contemporary feel while giving t...

The contemporary style of this painting transforms the scene into a vivid poem of sun-kissed moments, where each stroke narrates the story of a sunny day in a kaleidoscope of summer ...