Thursday, September 26, 2013

Report on SHATTERED FACES exhibition 4 - 21 September 2013












SHATTERED FACES

An exhibition with artists Ahmad Kleige and Sandra Issa
Opening on Wednesday September 4, 2013 at 6 pm
Exhibition from 4 till 21 September 2013
at Galerie Janine Rubeiz








view of the exhibition at Galerie Janine Rubeiz



Shattered Faces exhibition took place at Galerie Janine Rubeiz (Beirut, Lebanon) from 4 to 21 September 2013. Curated by gallery owner Nadine Begdache, the show gathered works by two artists from the region, Ahmed Kleige (Syrian, born 1964) and Sandra Issa (Lebanese, born 1984).

Both artist works on people affected by conflicts in the Middle East. Ahmed Kleige cover his canvas with grey spaces where one or two figures stands still, staring at the viewer. The isolated figures represent for the artist the destiny of many populations of the region. Sandra Issa studies newspaper and the influence of mass media on our conception of the world. She worked on a wall installation of paintings on newspaper and fabric in which she depicted the story of normal people, the unknown faces we see in the news.





visitors standing in front of Sandra Issa wall installation




Galerie Janine Rubeiz invites you to the opening of the exhibition SHATTERED FACES 
With artists Ahmed Kleige and Sandra Issa
Wednesday, September 4 starting 6 p.m.
The exhibition continues until Saturday, September 21, 2013


The events that are shaking the Arab world are haunting the imagination of artists. Seen or experienced, these events cause fear, indignation, disgust, or excitement and lead the artists to express their feelings.  It is at the height of this unrest that the work of two artists, a Syrian and a Lebanese, gather to offer their views on their region. It is a silent dialogue on the State of the world and the anxiety it generates. The two artists express in their own way, a reality they have seen or experienced.

Ahmed Kleige focuses on the people affected by the conflict; men and women who are unaware of the negotiations and political issues surrounding these conflicts of which they are victims. They have asked nothing; they are the forgotten of the conflict, the unnamed faces shown on the screens. The work of Kleige is a cry against injustice and oppression.

Sandra Issa works on the news by filtering the media information. She appropriates images conveyed by newspapers and reinterprets the stories through a personal angle, where the emphasis is given to the human being and his situation in the world, beyond anecdotal evidence.










La Galerie Janine Rubeiz vous invite au vernissage de l’exposition VISAGES BRISES
Des artistes Ahmed Kleige et Sandra Issa
Le Mercredi 4 Septembre à partir de 18h
L’exposition se poursuit jusqu’au 21 Septembre


Les événements qui secouent le monde arabe hantent l’imagination des artistes. Evénements observés ou vécus, ils provoquent peur, indignation, dégout ou excitation et poussent les artistes à exprimer leur vision des choses.
C’est au paroxysme de cette agitation que le travail de deux artistes, l’un Syrien et l’une Libanaise, se retrouvent pour offrir leur regard sur le monde. C’est un dialogue silencieux sur l’état du monde arabe et l’angoisse qu’il génère. Chacun a sa manière, les deux artistes expriment une réalité vue ou vécue.
Ahmed Kleige se penche sur les personnes touchées par les conflits ; des hommes et des femmes plongés dans leur quotidien et qui ignorent tout des tractations et enjeux politiques autour de ces conflits dont ils sont victimes. Eux  n’ont rien demandé ; ils sont les oubliés du conflit, les visages sans nom qui défilent sur les écrans. L’œuvre de Kleige est un cri face à l’injustice et l’oppression.
Sandra Issa aborde des thèmes d’actualité à travers un filtrage des medias. Elle s’approprie les images véhiculées par les journaux et réinterprète les évènements sous un angle personnel, ou l’importance est donnée a l’être humain et sa situation dans le monde, au-delà de l’anecdote.  















AHMED KLEIGE


Ahmed Kleige is born in Aleppo, Syria in 1964. He is a member of the Syrian Fine Arts Union in Damascus. He graduated from Fathi Mohamed Fine Arts Center, Aleppo in 1988. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Lebanon at the Unesco Palace, the American University of Beirut and at the Sursock Museum. He had several solo exhibitions in Beirut at Zamaan Gallery and at the Opera House in Damascus. His work is part of many private collections. He currently lives in Beirut, Lebanon.


Artist Statement
I need more than one painting and more than one attempt to be able to capture the anguish and destruction surrounding me. Every day images and scenes invade me and I live in the fear of what is coming, the fear of the unknown and doubt. Only painting releases and soothes me. Painting is the living memory that I witness day after day. 
Since my first painting, it is the poor and oppressed people who occupy my thoughts. I try to embody their anxieties and fears, their dreams and sorrows. My colors are my scream against injustice and despair; since the pain of Spartacus, the tears of the mothers of Halabja [the massacre of Halabja, Iraq, with chemical weapons in 1988], to the last children who are falling in the streets covered with their own blood.



Ahmad Kleige, untitled, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 60 cm












SANDRA ISSA

In the Skin of the World

Wall installation, 2013

Sandra Issa is born in 1984, in Lebanon. She studied Visual Arts in Lebanon and France. Her work includes drawing, painting and installation in which she comments on social and political issues. Since 2005, she regularly performs live painting in different venues and events. She works also as an Assistant with several artists and art spaces in France and Lebanon. Since 2012, she organizes and participates in several group exhibitions in Lebanon.


Between works on paper and work on canvas, this series consists of mixed media made on a support of newspapers and assembled fabrics. These recycled materials are agglomerated in a semi-rigid support with a texture similar to leather.

The fabrics come from old clothes, cloth, or furniture. They are our everyday objects, but also our second skin, an envelope that carries our culture and identity.

The newspapers are the noise of the world, the voices of politicians and influential people who are making the news. Newspapers are the most palpable traces of the media, an everyday object carrier of anecdotes that we read and hear. They carry the history that we must learn and know, the history they want us to remember.

Glued together, newspapers and fabrics constitute a membrane; “the membrane of the world”. On this membrane that is fragmented as this world that is consuming itself, I trace images. Gleaned in the press, these images come from the explosion of information projected by mass media every day and which become embedded in my memory as shrapnel. They are appropriated, “decontextualised” and reinterpreted to raise fundamental and human issues, beyond anecdotal evidence from which they were extracted initially.

This series of works accumulated over time is a reflection of the times in which we live. They are then installed in the space so that they render the sense of explosion that they raised initially in my mind. These works scattered in all directions recreate a particular atmosphere that intends to reflect bits of our contemporary history. They are a testimony of an era, the traces of a society seen through a personal perspective and personified through portraits of men and women of whom we will never know the name.    -  Sandra Issa 



Sandra Issa, Why, 2013, mixed media on newspaper and fabric, 16 x 26 cm





Dans la peau du monde

Entre dessin sur papier et peinture sur toile, cette série est constituée de techniques mixtes sur un support fait de papiers journaux et tissus encollés. Ces matériaux recyclés et agglomérés constituent un support semi-rigide à la texture semblable au cuir.
Les tissus proviennent de vieux vêtements, draps ou meubles. Objets du quotidien, ils sont notre deuxième peau, une enveloppe porteuse de culture et d’identité.

Les journaux sont les bruits du monde ; les voix des politiciens et des personnes influentes qui font l’actualité. Ils sont la trace la plus palpable des médias, un objet du quotidien porteur d’anecdotes qu’il nous faut lire et entendre. Ils portent l’histoire qu’il nous faut apprendre et connaitre, l’histoire qu’ils veulent qu’on retienne.

Englués ensemble, journaux et tissus constituent une membrane ; la membrane du monde. Sur cette membrane morcelée a l’image d’un monde qui se consume et se consomme lui-même, l’artiste retrace des images. Glanées dans la presse, ces images proviennent de l’explosion d’informations projetées par les medias tous les jours et qui s’incrustent dans la mémoire de l’artiste comme des éclats d’obus. Les images sont appropriées, « décontextualisées » et réinterprétées pour soulever des questions plus fondamentales et plus humaines, au-delà de l’anecdote dont elles sont extraites.

Cette série d’œuvres accumulées dans le temps est le reflet de l’époque dans laquelle nous vivons. Elle est ensuite installée dans l’espace de sorte qu’elle restitue le sentiment d’explosion qu’elles ont suscité initialement chez l’artiste. Les œuvres disséminées dans toutes les directions recréent une ambiance particulière où transparaissent des tranches de l’histoire contemporaine. Elles sont le témoignage d’une époque, la trace d’une société vue sous un nouvel angle personnel et personnifié à travers des visages et des portraits d’hommes et de femmes dont nous ne connaitrons jamais le nom. 






Sandra Issa, a Childhood in the Camps, 2013, enamel on newspaper and fabric, 93 x 70 cm







Sandra Issa, Aleppo, 2013, acrylic on newspaper and fabric, 90 x 88 cm








Sandra Issa, In Cairo, 2013, acrylic on newspaper and fabric, 205 x 80 cm















SHATTERED FACES OPENING
Wednesday September 4 2013



















SHATTERED FACES
Exhibition view





















SHATTERED FACES
In the News







In NOW Lebanon
Natalie Shooter

Shattered faces

At Galerie Janine Rubeiz

In what is one of the oldest art spaces in Beirut, Gallery Janine Rubeizhosts the joint exhibition Shattered Faces in which the subject is bitingly current. The work of Kurdish-Syrian artist, Ahmad Kleige, based in Beirut for the past 17 years, and Lebanese artist Sandra Issa gives voice to ordinary people that often, between the handshakes of politicians and the faces of gun battles, don’t always make it to the media. Through their work they’re essentially documenting the victims of conflict. 

Kleige’s haunting acrylic paintings that line one side of the gallery show the impact of the Syrian war on its people. Through his paintings he creates a solitary, anxious world in muted greys; a gloomy palette that adds to the claustrophobia. Solemn faces stare out with empty eyes, trapped against a stifling backdrop; a woman sits on the ground against a pile of her possessions; families cling to each other, standing nervously, staring ahead. Kleige’s paintings are the victim’s cry, an expression of ongoing suffering and an unknown future. 

Made from mixed media, Issa’s paintings on misshapen pieces of newspaper sprawl across the wall, like a pin board of press clippings on the Arab uprisings. In brightly-colored hues, inspired by comic book culture, graffiti and pop art, Issa’s paintings express an optimism missing from Kleige’s work. “I really use these colors to stay close to the people, these very pure feelings and state of mind. That’s why I like to use these very raw colors,” Issa tells NOW. Unlike Kleige’s stationary figures, Issa’s characters are in full motion. A young refugee plays with a tin pot helmet in shades of the sunset; a bandana-wearing Syrian revolutionary releases a battle cry; a crowd of women, fists in the air holding banners exclaim ‘my pussy, my choice!’ and ‘keep your rosaries off my ovaries!’ Though there’s an acknowledgement of suffering – three children peer round the corner of a wall in a painting titled ‘Where can we go?’ – Issa’s overall sentiment is one of hope. “I guess I’m still hoping and dreaming that the Arab Spring has hope left,” Issa explains. 

Both the work of Kleige and Issa has long been shaped by political events in the region. It was the massacres in the North Iraq town ofHalabja in 1988, under the regime of Saddam Hussein that made a big impact on Kleige, since then his work has become progressively more political. In Shattered Faces he shows the unnamed sufferers of the Syrian war. “The people I am painting live the same fears as me, the same worries, the same hope or despair,” he says. “I’m summarizing the history of a people in one child or woman. Through their situation they represent the destiny of a nation.”

For Issa, it was the impact of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah that begun to shape her work. At the time based in France, shocked by the distortion of the Arab world through the European media, Issa’s work became increasingly political as she worked to readdress the media’s misrepresentations. “I realized the influence of mass media on people’s beliefs and ideas of the Arab world and Lebanon,” Issa says. “People were saying ‘oh they deserve to die. Lebanese are all terrorists anyway.’ I started working from the media trying to analyze and deconstruct the language of media, remove the judgment and just give a pure image.”  The materials Issa uses in her paintings have their own significance; after the mass media became her main subject, it also became a physical material. Over the newspaper she would write, draw or paint. “It was a technique to put my voice and the voice of normal people over the voices of the media and politicians.”

Issa’s work within Shattered Faces shows a desire to almost rewrite the media’s perceived history, to move away from its authoritative voice and focus on real people’s stories. “For me the newspaper is the identity of the memory. They constitute the history they want us to remember, the history that is dictated that we should know. For me I took the newspaper as a skin, the mental skin we are living in,” Issa says. By working with everyday materials such as leather, fabrics and newspaper she grounds her work in day-to-day life; again connecting her subjects to the people. “I’m trying to make a parallel history, the history of normal people, our situation, our daily life. Not the numbers of dead, or the price of oil rising, depending on conflicts or interests.”

The grey world of Kleige’s paintings has an emotional impact, also revealing pessimism about Syria’s future. Though for him there is some lightness in his palettes of grey – “it’s the space between dark and light, black and white” – the greyness reflects the reality of a country at war - its ashes. The characters within his paintings are helpless, isolated and devoid of hope. “I am very sad for what is happening,” Kleige says. “Whatever will happen in Syria it will never be as it was before; even if things get better it will need a lot of time to return to a normal country.” Kleige isn’t trying to send a message to the outside world though, through the questioning eyes of isolated figures against empty backgrounds in his paintings we are drawn into their internal worlds. “For me the outside world is not important. It’s what is inside these people we’re seeing.”

In the energy of revolution, defiant faces and crowded protests of Issa’s paintings, for her the hunger for change sparked in the Arab Spring will continue to drive people forward towards real change. “The young people going down in the street in the Arab Spring asking for change was a great hope for me,” she says. “Although it turned out very bitterly, I’m still hoping that the younger generation will keep fighting, standing for their rights and asking for a better way to live. I believe that personal initiatives and the strength of individuals can bring little changes to society that can grow into bigger changes.”

Essentially, in Shattered Faces, Kleige and Issa have archived a moment in time, documenting the voices of the ordinary. “I think it’s very important to keep records of what is happening in our world today, but through a different angle. This will complete the official archives that are kept in the official places,” Issa laughs.

Of course, with war and conflict comes creativity. The work of Issa and Kleige is part of a bigger movement of expression for the Syrian war and Arab uprisings; under which art scenes have blossomed and grown in strength. For Kleige, Syrian art had already begun to shape its own identity over recent years, before the war, but has since grown even stronger. “Before there was a clear direction within Syrian art, but lately it has found more solidity, strength, and maturity. Now we can imagine that a new school of Syrian art is being created.” The role of art within periods of conflict is to challenge and question the status quo; as with Kleige and Issa’s work it’s the voice of the people, the offer of an alternative. “Art is a reflection of the society we live in,” Issa says. “It’s a physical atmosphere for the ideas people have in mind.” Kleige adds  “It can bring some changes in mentality too, in the long term.”


‘Shattered Faces’ will be on display at Galerie Janine Rubeiz until Saturday September 21.









In l’Orient Le Jour

CULTURE
CIMAISES
Ahmed Kleige et Sandra Issa, la mémoire dans la peau
Par Colette KHALAF | samedi, septembre 7, 2013


Sandra Issa et Ahmad Kleige, des regards croisés sur les oubliés de la terre. Photo Michel Sayegh


À l’initiative de la galerie Janine Rubeiz*, deux acteurs de la scène artistique, deux peintres au passé et aux visions différents, ont instauré un dialogue pictural sur le thème de « Shattered Faces ». Une exposition qui se poursuit jusqu’au 21 septembre.
Né à Alep en 1964 et diplômé de «Fathi Mohammad Fine Arts Center» en 1998, Ahmed Kleige est établi au Liban. Sandra Issa, elle, est née en 1984 à Beyrouth. Elle a poursuivi des études d’arts visuels au Liban et en France et organise, depuis, plusieurs performances et installations ou participe à des expositions. Si deux décennies séparent ces deux artistes, les mêmes problèmes, les mêmes angoisses les rassemblent. Et c’est sur différents espaces picturaux qu’ils traduisent tous deux leurs appréhensions et leurs inquiétudes. 

Un cri... un écho 
«Comment peut-on être sourd aux cris qui s’élèvent dans ce Moyen-Orient qui se brise peu à peu jusqu’à s’effriter ?», se demande Kleige. «Comment peut-on ne pas être à l’écoute de tous ces individus, ces êtres humains dont on oublie le nom et qui ne sont que des chiffres dans les médias?», lui répond Sandra Issa. Et c’est à partir de cette réflexion que le dialogue prend corps petit à petit tant sur la toile que sur du papier journal. 
Les deux artistes ne se connaissaient pas bien mais, tout au long de leur processus de travail, de leurs échanges quotidiens, ils ont réussi à construire un univers qu’on croyait lointain, mais qui semble si familier. Chacun à sa manière exprime une réalité vue ou vécue. Si l’œuvre de Kleige apparaît comme un cri face à l’injustice et l’oppression, celle de Issa semble plus teintée d’espoir. «Depuis ma première toile, avoue-t-il, c’est l’être démuni et opprimé qui occupe mes pensées. Je tente de donner forme à ses angoisses et ses peurs, ses rêves et ses tristesses.» Et de poursuivre: «De la douleur de Spartacus jusqu’aux enfants qui tombent dans les rues, en passant par les pleurs des mères à Halabja (le massacre de Halabja en Irak, à l’arme chimique, en 1988), mes couleurs sont le cri que je lance face à l’injustice et le désespoir.» De ces couleurs sable, terre ou même bitume où l’être s’y fond peu à peu jusqu’à devenir presque invisible, on a pu déceler une petite fleur. Mais très vite, l’artiste répond: «C’est ce qui reste de ce prénommé printemps arabe.» 

Soumission et rébellion
Si donc Ahmad Kleige reproduit sur ses toiles des regards creux et hagards qui percent le cœur, Sandra Issa, elle, représente aussi toutes ces figures brisées, sans nom et sans identité, mais sous un autre angle. Ils sont deux, trois ou légions. Reniés, négligés par la presse, ces individus sont cependant en perpétuel mouvement. Contrairement à l’attitude figée des personnages de Kleige, ils bougent, cavalent, lèvent les bras. «Ils incarnent l’espoir... du début de la révolte», dit doucement Sandra Issa. À travers un filtrage des médias, l’artiste s’approprie les images véhiculées par les journaux et réinterprète les événements. «Entre dessin sur papier et peinture sur toile, cette série est constituée de techniques mixtes sur un support fait de papiers journaux et tissus encollés. Ces matériaux recyclés et agglomérés constituent un support semi-rigide à la texture semblable au cuir, explique Issa. Les tissus proviennent de vieux vêtements, draps ou meubles. Objets du quotidien, ils sont notre deuxième peau, une enveloppe porteuse de culture et d’identité.» À travers cette technique, les figures croquées par l’artiste envahissent l’espace, reprennent le dessus sur l’événement et couvrent les voix des politiciens et des personnes influentes qui font l’actualité. Comme une revanche. Sorties de leur contexte, les images de Sandra Issa deviennent un tracé d’histoire sur les murs de la galerie. Une histoire en marche.
Il est certain que ces deux artistes trempent leurs couleurs dans le quotidien. Pour Kleige, le massacre des Kurdes en Irak a été le tournant dans sa vie d’artiste, tandis que Sandra Issa avoue que c’est l’année 2006 qui a changé sa vision. «En tant qu’artistes, nous ne pouvons pas rester à l’écart des turbulences sociales.» «J’ai besoin de plus d’une toile pour cerner l’angoisse et la destruction qui m’entourent, confiera enfin Kleige. La peinture est la mémoire vécue au quotidien.» Une mémoire que ces deux artistes, en témoignant de ce présent à leur façon, ont inscrit dans la membrane picturale. Comme une seconde peau. 

*Galerie Janine Rubeiz, imm. Majdalani (Raouché). 
Ouverte du mardi au vendredi de 10 heures à 19 heures et les samedis de 10 heures à 14 heures. Tél. : 01/868290.




in artbahrain

in Beirut.com




in l’Hebdo MAGAZINE

Ahmed Kleige et Sandra Issa
Shattered faces… du monde arabe

Jusqu’au 21 septembre, à la galerie Janine Rubeiz
Les événements sanglants qui secouent le monde arabe ne laissent pas indifférent. Notamment les artistes. Leur imagination est désormais pourchassée, voire hantée par l’actualité. Vue ou vécue, elle leur fait peur, les indigne, les dégoûte, les excite et les incite à s’exprimer… à leur façon… Cette façon magique de transformer la laideur en un chef-d’œuvre fascinant. C’est justement ce qu’ont fait Ahmed Kleige et Sandra Issa. Le premier s’est concentré sur les gens affectés par ce conflit, ceux-là qui n’ont rien demandé mais qui paient le lourd tribut, oubliés dans ce cercle de danger… laissés à leur sombre sort; tandis que la deuxième a filtré les informations circulées par les médias et les a interprétées à sa manière, mettant en évidence l’être humain et sa situation. Le résultat: Shattered faces, exposition à ne pas rater.

Karla Ziadé



In l’Agenda Culturel

‘Visages brisés’Le 03/09/13
Les événements qui secouent le monde arabe hantent l’imagination des artistes.
Événements observés ou vécus, ils provoquent indignation, peur, dégoût ou excitation et poussent les artistes à exprimer leur vision des choses.

C’est au paroxysme de cette agitation que le travail de deux artistes, l’un Syrien et l’autre Libanaise, se retrouvent pour offrir leur regard sur le monde.

Ahmed Kleige se penche sur les personnes touchées par les conflits ; des hommes et des femmes plongés dans leur quotidien et qui ignorent tous des tractations et enjeux politiques autour de ces conflits dont ils sont victimes.

Sandra Issa aborde des thèmes d’actualité à travers un filtrage des médias. Elle s'approprie des images véhiculées par les journaux et réinterprète les histoires à travers un angle personnel, où l'accent est mis sur l'être humain et sur sa situation dans le monde, au-delà des preuves anecdotiques.

Sandra Issa est né en 1984 au Liban et est diplômée de l’ERSEP à Tourcoing. Elle a étudié les arts visuels au Liban et en France. Son travail comprend dessin, peinture et installation. Son travail est basé sur l’analyse des actualités et des récits diffusés par les médias.

Ahmed Kleige est né à Alep, en Syrie, en 1964. Il est membre de l'Union des Beaux-Arts syrien à Damas. Il est diplômé de Fathi Mohamed Fine Arts Center, à Alep en 1988. Il a participé à de nombreuses expositions collectives au Liban. Il vit actuellement à Beyrouth, Liban.

Lire aussi notre entretien avec Sandra Issa


‘Visages brisés’
Ahmad Kleige et Sandra Issa
Galerie Janine Rubeiz
Du 4 au 21 septembre 2013
Vernissage le mercredi 4 septembre à 18h00
(01) 868290


In l’Agenda Culturel
Les évènements de la région vus à travers les ‘Visages brisés’ de Kleige et d'IssaLe 04/09/13
'Visages brisés' est le titre de l’exposition que présentent les artistes Ahmad Kleige et Sandra Issa à la galerie Janine Rubeiz du 4 au 21 septembre. Sandra Issa nous en raconte plus.


Cette exposition comprend-elle une collaboration effective entre vous et Ahmad Kleige?
Cette exposition est à l'initiative de la galeriste Nadine Begdache qui a vu dans nos projets respectifs une sensibilité commune face aux événements qui secouent la région. Suite à sa proposition, Ahmed et moi nous sommes réunis à plusieurs reprises pour mieux connaître nos travaux respectifs et élaborer ensemble un concept commun. 

Quel regard portez-vous sur la situation politique actuelle de la région ?
La région est depuis toujours l'objet d'enjeux politiques dont les premières victimes sont les populations défavorisées. Comme dans beaucoup de régions au "Sud" du globe, on est embourbé dans un cercle vicieux de corruption - pauvreté - corruption. Il est très difficile d'en sortir sans une nouvelle élite politique qui ait la volonté et les moyens de réformer le pays.

Sous quel angle abordez-vous ce thème ?
J'observe et je m'approprie les images des médias ; elles sont ma matière première. Ensuite, j'altère et modifie l'information véhiculée par ces images pour exprimer une autre version de la réalité : celle de ces hommes et de ces femmes sans nom qui sont emportés dans les tribulations de l'Histoire sans toujours en saisir la portée. 

Quelle a été votre principale source d’inspiration ?
Ma source d'inspiration principale pour ce dernier projet a été l'influence des médias sur la société. Il est effrayant de constater à quel point le discours des médias peut modifier l'opinion des personnes, mais aussi leurs goûts, leurs idéologies ou leurs comportements. C'est cette influence observée sur les gens qui m'entourent mais aussi sur moi-même qui m'a poussée à réfléchir et travailler sur cette question. 

Qui est votre peintre préféré ?
Je prends beaucoup de temps à regarder et apprécier le travail des artistes contemporains comme ceux d'autres époques. Il y a tellement d'artistes que j'apprécie, je ne pourrai pas en citer un seul. Mais récemment, je me suis particulièrement intéressée à Dan Perjovschi et à son approche ironique de l'art et de l'actualité.

Prochains projets ?
Collaborer et élaborer des projets avec d'autres artistes dans des espaces alternatifs.


Pour en savoir plus cliquez ici


In Annahar
1
2
3

In Al Akhbar

In Tawhid Arabi





 Sandra Issa, Crossing Borders, 2013, mixed media on newspaper and fabric, 78 x 55 cm






FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT :
GALERIE JANINE RUBEIZ
Beirut, Lebanon
1st Avenue, Charles de Gaulle
Majdalani Building (Bank Audi)
Raoucheh
Tel. (961) 1 868 290
Fax. (961) 1 805 061





Monday, September 16, 2013

Shattered Faces in the News

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/features/shattered-faces

Shattered faces

At Galerie Janine Rubeiz

by Natalie Shooter

Shattered Faces
In what is one of the oldest art spaces in Beirut, Gallery Janine Rubeizhosts the joint exhibition Shattered Faces in which the subject is bitingly current. The work of Kurdish-Syrian artist, Ahmad Kleige, based in Beirut for the past 17 years, and Lebanese artist Sandra Issa gives voice to ordinary people that often, between the handshakes of politicians and the faces of gun battles, don’t always make it to the media. Through their work they’re essentially documenting the victims of conflict. 

Kleige’s haunting acrylic paintings that line one side of the gallery show the impact of the Syrian war on its people. Through his paintings he creates a solitary, anxious world in muted greys; a gloomy palette that adds to the claustrophobia. Solemn faces stare out with empty eyes, trapped against a stifling backdrop; a woman sits on the ground against a pile of her possessions; families cling to each other, standing nervously, staring ahead. Kleige’s paintings are the victim’s cry, an expression of ongoing suffering and an unknown future. 

Made from mixed media, Issa’s paintings on misshapen pieces of newspaper sprawl across the wall, like a pin board of press clippings on the Arab uprisings. In brightly-colored hues, inspired by comic book culture, graffiti and pop art, Issa’s paintings express an optimism missing from Kleige’s work. “I really use these colors to stay close to the people, these very pure feelings and state of mind. That’s why I like to use these very raw colors,” Issa tells NOW. Unlike Kleige’s stationary figures, Issa’s characters are in full motion. A young refugee plays with a tin pot helmet in shades of the sunset; a bandana-wearing Syrian revolutionary releases a battle cry; a crowd of women, fists in the air holding banners exclaim ‘my pussy, my choice!’ and ‘keep your rosaries off my ovaries!’ Though there’s an acknowledgement of suffering – three children peer round the corner of a wall in a painting titled ‘Where can we go?’ – Issa’s overall sentiment is one of hope. “I guess I’m still hoping and dreaming that the Arab Spring has hope left,” Issa explains

Both the work of Kleige and Issa has long been shaped by political events in the region. It was the massacres in the North Iraq town ofHalabja in 1988, under the regime of Saddam Hussein that made a big impact on Kleige, since then his work has become progressively more political. In Shattered Faces he shows the unnamed sufferers of the Syrian war. “The people I am painting live the same fears as me, the same worries, the same hope or despair,” he says. “I’m summarizing the history of a people in one child or woman. Through their situation they represent the destiny of a nation.”

For Issa, it was the impact of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah that begun to shape her work. At the time based in France, shocked by the distortion of the Arab world through the European media, Issa’s work became increasingly political as she worked to readdress the media’s misrepresentations. “I realized the influence of mass media on people’s beliefs and ideas of the Arab world and Lebanon,” Issa says. “People were saying ‘oh they deserve to die. Lebanese are all terrorists anyway.’ I started working from the media trying to analyze and deconstruct the language of media, remove the judgment and just give a pure image.”  The materials Issa uses in her paintings have their own significance; after the mass media became her main subject, it also became a physical material. Over the newspaper she would write, draw or paint. “It was a technique to put my voice and the voice of normal people over the voices of the media and politicians.”

Issa’s work within Shattered Faces shows a desire to almost rewrite the media’s perceived history, to move away from its authoritative voice and focus on real people’s stories. “For me the newspaper is the identity of the memory. They constitute the history they want us to remember, the history that is dictated that we should know. For me I took the newspaper as a skin, the mental skin we are living in,” Issa says. By working with everyday materials such as leather, fabrics and newspaper she grounds her work in day-to-day life; again connecting her subjects to the people. “I’m trying to make a parallel history, the history of normal people, our situation, our daily life. Not the numbers of dead, or the price of oil rising, depending on conflicts or interests.”

The grey world of Kleige’s paintings has an emotional impact, also revealing pessimism about Syria’s future. Though for him there is some lightness in his palettes of grey – “it’s the space between dark and light, black and white” – the greyness reflects the reality of a country at war - its ashes. The characters within his paintings are helpless, isolated and devoid of hope. “I am very sad for what is happening,” Kleige says. “Whatever will happen in Syria it will never be as it was before; even if things get better it will need a lot of time to return to a normal country.” Kleige isn’t trying to send a message to the outside world though, through the questioning eyes of isolated figures against empty backgrounds in his paintings we are drawn into their internal worlds. “For me the outside world is not important. It’s what is inside these people we’re seeing.”

In the energy of revolution, defiant faces and crowded protests of Issa’s paintings, for her the hunger for change sparked in the Arab Spring will continue to drive people forward towards real change. “The young people going down in the street in the Arab Spring asking for change was a great hope for me,” she says. “Although it turned out very bitterly, I’m still hoping that the younger generation will keep fighting, standing for their rights and asking for a better way to live. I believe that personal initiatives and the strength of individuals can bring little changes to society that can grow into bigger changes.”

Essentially, in Shattered Faces, Kleige and Issa have archived a moment in time, documenting the voices of the ordinary. “I think it’s very important to keep records of what is happening in our world today, but through a different angle. This will complete the official archives that are kept in the official places,” Issa laughs.

Of course, with war and conflict comes creativity. The work of Issa and Kleige is part of a bigger movement of expression for the Syrian war and Arab uprisings; under which art scenes have blossomed and grown in strength. For Kleige, Syrian art had already begun to shape its own identity over recent years, before the war, but has since grown even stronger. “Before there was a clear direction within Syrian art, but lately it has found more solidity, strength, and maturity. Now we can imagine that a new school of Syrian art is being created.” The role of art within periods of conflict is to challenge and question the status quo; as with Kleige and Issa’s work it’s the voice of the people, the offer of an alternative. “Art is a reflection of the society we live in,” Issa says. “It’s a physical atmosphere for the ideas people have in mind.” Kleige adds  “It can bring some changes in mentality too, in the long term.”


‘Shattered Faces’ will be on display at Galerie Janine Rubeiz until Saturday September 21.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Shattered Faces exhibition in the Lebanese Arabic Newspaper

Published on الأخبار (http://www.al-akhbar.com)
الصفحة الرئيسية > أحمد قليج وساندرا عيسى: زمن الدم

أحمد قليج وساندرا عيسى: زمن الدم

«وجوه مبعثرة» بين تونس ومصر وسوريا

قليج وعيسى في المعرض
حسين بن حمزة

ربما هي من المرات النادرة التي تتحقق فيها فكرة «المعرض المشترك» بطريقة صائبة وجذابة، فقد اشتغلت «غاليري جانين ربيز» على جمع تجربة السوري أحمد قليج (1964) واللبنانية ساندرا عيسى (1984) بمواجهة اللحظة العربية المعاصرة. تحت عنوان «وجوه مبعثرة»، وُزِّعت الأعمال المعروضة على حائطين متقابلين، بحيث بدا أنّ الأعمال نفسها تتبادل وجهتي نظر متقاربتين حول الموضوع نفسه، وإن كان ذلك يحدث بمزاجين مختلفين، وبتقنيات وتأليفات مختلفة أيضاً.
يرسم قليج وجوه السوريين المدماة، ونظراتهم القلقة، وقاماتهم المكسورة، بألوان الإكريليك المسفوحة على صور الأمكنة المهدمة، والحقائب والأغراض الملقاة بجانب نازحين وهاربين من جحيم القصف والاشتباكات، بينما تستخدم ساندرا عيسى قصاصات الجرائد المدعومة بسُمك القماش، كي تؤلف بالإكريليك وبمواد مختلفة ما تعكسه نشرات الأخبار وأفلام اليوتيوب عن الأحداث ذاتها. هكذا، تتوالى الوجوه الغاضبة في التظاهرات، ووجوه المقاتلين والجنود، ومشهديات اللجوء والمدن والشوارع المدمرة. الرسامة الشابة تحاول الجمع بين المادة التراجيدية والصاخبة للموضوع، والخفّة الكونديرية غير المحتملة لطريقتها في إنجاز ذلك. تتخلى اللوحات عن البرواز التقليدي، وعن فكرة أن تكون مستطيلة أو مربعة، وتكتفي بحافات القصاصات المتآكلة بفعل الحرق والتمزيق المتعمّد. كأنّ اللوحات يُراد لها أن تحتفظ بنكهة الصحيفة والأخبار والصور التي تنشر فيها. النظر إلى الواقع هنا يخضع لممارسات فنية أكثر معاصرةً من «فن اللوحة»، الذي نراه في أعمال زميلها القادم من محترف سوري غني ومتعدد، ومن جغرافية شمال سوريا المعروفة بتعبيراتها التشكيلية القوية والخصبة، وخصوصاً لدى الرسامين ذوي الأصول الكردية. أحمد قليج هو ابن هذه التعبيرات التي تكتسب ثراءً وقسوة إضافية بحسب الحال التي وصلت إليها سوريا اليوم، وهي تطرح تحديات جديدة ومؤلمة على تجربته القائمة على استثمار التشخيصات والملامح البشرية، واستدراج الهلع الذي يسيل من العيون والجروح والأنقاض. بطريقة ما، تبدو أعمال ساندرا عيسى تمهيداً بصرياً لأعمال قليج المتورطة أكثر في النتائج المتأخرة للحدث. كأنّ صور التظاهرات في مصر وتونس، والوجوه والقبضات والأعلام المرفوعة في بدايات «الربيع العربي»، لا تزال تجد صداها في قصاصات الرسامة الأقرب سناً إلى أحلام وطموحات شباب هذه الحقبة، بينما يتحول ما بدا حلماً وردياً إلى كوابيس مرعبة في أعمال قليج. لعل الفرق قادم من هول الحالة السورية مقارنةً بأحوال مصر وتونس، لكن هذا الفرق يشتغل في خدمة المعرض الذي يكتسب تنوعاً في الرؤية والخلاصات.
تحت السطح الصاخب للأعمال المعروضة، وتحت الخطاب السياسي الذي ينبعث منها، لا يزال ممكناً أن نمتدح براعة التأليفات في لوحات قليج التي واظبت في معارض سابقة على استقبال وجوه البسطاء والمقهورين، لكنهم هذه المرة أكثر قهراً وحزناً. الألوان الكالحة توحّد مناخ لوحاته الـ 14 التي لا تحمل عناوين محددة، ولا تحتاج أصلاً إلى هذه العناوين طالما أنها تؤرخ بوضوح لخراب الأرواح والأمكنة السورية. تُدهشنا الوجوه المضمَّدة، والوجوه الزائغة الملامح، بمقدار ما تُدهشنا الأصول الفوتوغرافية الملتقطة بذكاء لمشاهد الأبنية المبقورة المثقلة بشرفات الطوابق المُسبلة كأذرعة مشلولة على الأجساد الإسمنتية. إنها لوحات عن الحرب في زمن الحرب. في المقابل، تُشغل أعمال ساندرا عيسى بإظهار المذاقات والانطباعات المعاصرة من الزمن نفسه، حيث تتصالح ممارسات الفنانة مع انضوائها في حساسيات راهنة ومستقبلية لدى الجيل الذي تنتمي إليه. هكذا، تتسع أعمالها لمناصرة حقوق المثليّين في قبلة بين فتاتين، وأخرى بين رجلين. وتتسع لمطالبات اجتماعية ونسوية تظهر على شكل جملة مثل My pussy My choice تتصدر إحدى اللوحات.
يمكنكم متابعة حسين بن حمزة عبر تويتر [1]| @hbinhamza [1]

«وجوه مبعثرة». حتى 21 أيلول (سبتمبر) ـــ «غاليري جانين ربيز» (الروشة) ــ للاستعلام: 01/868290
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Links:
[1] https://twitter.com/hbinhamza
[2] http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/190385
[3] http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/190126
[4] http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/190124
[5] http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/189977




أحمد قليج وساندرا عيسى في “غاليري جانين ربيز”
كتب في: سبتمبر 10, 2013 فى: ثقافة | تعليقات : 0

لوحة للرسامة ساندرا عيسى
“وجوه مبعثرة”، هو معرض ثنائي مشترك يقام في “غاليري جانين ربيز”، الروشة، للفنانة اللبنانية ساندرا عيسى (1984) والفنان السوري أحمد قليج (1964) ويستمر الى 21 ايلول.
يختلف الفنانان في الأسلوب، غير ان افكارهما ومعاناتهما تنبعان من مشكلات جيليهما وأحوال بلديهما، وخصوصاً ما تشهده المنطقة من تحولات وانتفاضات وثورات تطمح كلها الى التحرر من الاضطهاد والديكتاتورية والطغيان التي تخنق الانسان العربي وتجعله يقاومها من اجل الحرية والديموقراطية.
يعطي المعرض فكرة عما يحدث من حولنا وفي قلب ديارنا، ريثما ينطفئ بريق العنف ويحل الهناء الذي يجعل بلدنا من جديد عنوان الحرية والديموقراطية.

لوحة للرسام السوري احمد قليج















معرض - أحمد قليج وساندرا عيسى في "غاليري جانين ربيز": أسلوبان تجمعهما تراجيديا الوجوه المبعثرة

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لور غريب

10 أيلول 2013
"وجوه مبعثرة"، هو معرض ثنائي مشترك يقام في "غاليري جانين ربيز"، الروشة، للفنانة اللبنانية ساندرا عيسى (1984) والفنان السوري أحمد قليج (1964) ويستمر الى 21 ايلول.
يختلف الفنانان في الأسلوب، غير ان افكارهما ومعاناتهما تنبعان من مشكلات جيليهما وأحوال بلديهما، وخصوصاً ما تشهده المنطقة من تحولات وانتفاضات وثورات تطمح كلها الى التحرر من الاضطهاد والديكتاتورية والطغيان التي تخنق الانسان العربي وتجعله يقاومها من اجل الحرية والديموقراطية.
ساندرا عيسى
تختار عيسى الوجوه التي تنشر في الصحف والافكار والمقالات والتحقيقات والتعليقات كقاعدة موحدة لاعمالها، ممزوجة بأقمشة وقطع أثاث واشياء من الحياة اليومية التي تعتبرها جلدنا الثاني، اي الغلاف الحامل الثقافة والهوية. في تقنيات متنوعة، تدفع الفنانة الوجوه إلى المواجهة او التظاهر لجبه الاضطهاد ووسائل القمع والتوقيف والسجن التي يتعرض لها كل من يقاوم حجز الحريات.
رسومها عنيفة بأحمرها وتكويراتها السوداء ونظراتها المتوجهة الى هناك حيث الافق، والشعارات والاكاذيب التي تعاكس الواقع وتستعمل حججا للتغلب على الناس. تستعمل الواقع القاسي في تعابير الوجوه، وتنقل بغضب وبعنف التظاهرات واللقاءات بين فئات الشعب، الصغار والكبار، المحتجين وحاملي الاعلام، والاخرين المجهولين في خضمّ الزخم الشعبي. لا تحاول تجميل المشاهد بل ترسمها في عنفها وغضبها وتجهيل اصحابها لأن البحث عن الحقيقة هو ما يدفعها إلى ذلك، الحقيقة التي توجع ولا يمكن التغاضي عنها.
رسومها على كرتون مكسور او مقصوص او مطوي بحسب طبيعة استعماله الاولى، وهي تجيد استخدام المادة لتأتي مناسبة للموضوع الذي تعالجه. لا اضافات ولا زخرفات ولا تجميلات مشهدية بل القليل منها، من مثل بناية مائلة نحو الارض او اخرى نابتة من بين الاجساد، وهي نادرا ما تكمل المنظر ليبدو صورة مألوفة منفذة فقط لارضاء العين، مكتفيةً برسم رمزية الحدث بأقل الخطوط والالوان الممكنة، مسقطةً من حسابها كل ما يطرّي الاجواء ويجعل عملها رسالة مجاملة ترمي الى محاكاة المشاعر قبل العقل والدعوة الى الانتفاض والنقمة ورفض الواقع المؤلم والقاهر.
أحمد قليج
بعكس ساندرا عيسى، يطل الفنان السوري احمد قليج الذي يعمل حاليا في لبنان، بلوحات التعبيرية تغرق في وحدة قاتلة، حيث مساحات مونوكرومية مجردة من اي عنصر تزييني. نماذج اتية من العدم ومتوجهة الى السديم، حتى أن الزائر لا يستطيع تحمل النظرات الغارقة في الوجوه. كرويات شبه سوداء لا تحمل هوية ولا اضافات تعريفية. مشاهد نلمح فيها متاريس، وفي عمق الصورة مجموعات سوداء يفترض ان تكون لعساكر او مقاتلين، وتعلو هذا التجمع بقعة صغيرة زرقاء تدل على اننا في سهل تجري فيه اشياء مخيفة لا نريد التأكد من انها معارك يسفك فيها الدم وتمزّق الاجساد.
يتمتع الفنان بموهبة لافتة في تقديم لوحات ذات ديكورات مختلفة تزيد من رهبة المشهد وشدة التأثير المرئي على الزائر. يتفنن في استعمال الالوان الفاتحة نوعا ما، بعد ان يكون قد نفذ الحالة الدرامية كما يجب. تلك الالوان المضافة تمثل نوعا من تهوئة للموضوع كي لا تبقى العيون جاحظة فقط على الحالة الدرامية.
تتنوع مواضيعه وتلفت الدروس التي تمزق المشاعر الانسانية، وتستفيد لوحات اخرى من فراغات كبيرة والوان شبه مونوكرومية تغطي الفراغ التشكيلي وتبقي بعضا من وجه وبعضا من اشارة دموية وكثيرا من الاصفرار الذي يغزو اللوحة ويجعلها مجردة من الايقاعات الفرحة.
يعطي المعرض فكرة عما يحدث من حولنا وفي قلب ديارنا، ريثما ينطفئ بريق العنف ويحل الهناء الذي يجعل بلدنا من جديد عنوان الحرية والديموقراطية.
laure.ghorayeb@annahar.com.lb