Stilorama was recently in Lebanon where we were privileged to attend the opening of the famous Lebanese Artist Maroun Hakim’s latest paintings exhibition “Ainsi je vois, Ainsi je sens, ainsi je cree” (“As I see, so I feel, so I create”), held in Beirut, and which ran from the 11th to the 25th of May 2011. Maroun Hakim, painter and sculptor, is a great lover of nature. He works his stones and retains their colours to reproduce them on a resplendent and ever-new palette. His latest exhibition of paintings gives the viewer works of art where the advanced and perfectly honed technology combines not only with the colourful emotions accumulated in his visual memory, but also with the feelings of the moment connected to the time of creation. He is an artist who knows how to communicate through his paintings all the brightness of the Lebanese scenery, by suggesting the shapes, the villages, the sky, the clouds, the sea and the mountains without falling into figurative descriptions but by evoking through his solid colours and clever blends the spirit of Lebanese nature which holds his senses and enriches his soul.
“As I see, so I feel, so I create”, this phrase forms the title of his latest exhibition. His studio is a work in progress, a permanent construction site, where he dreams, experiments, creates and selects his works. Demanding of himself, persevering, and reputed to be a great scholar in the field, he nevertheless retains this delightful spontaneity which surprises and attracts the viewer. He never repeats himself and presents at each exhibition a new aspect of his artistic personality while still retaining a unique style forged through 35 years of work and research in painting and sculpture. While working on his sculptures, he never forgets that he is a painter; he chooses stones of different colours, shapes his sculptures with all the tenderness and fluidity of a painting, and imbues their careful finishing with its elegance. When painting, he never forgets that he is a sculptor; the shapes and solids recall the allure, the strength, the refinement and even give the illusion of the volume of his sculptures.
A great poet of colour and shape, Maroun Hakim is a versatile artist who has not stopped working and exhibiting his creations since 1976, and that in his native Lebanon, which for years has been constantly disrupted by wars and disturbed by economic crises of all kinds. That he can work through all this and more, even draw his inspiration from it then transform it into a thing of beauty is a testament to how talented an artist he is. If you ever find yourself in the neighbourhood, do pass by and take a look at his Atelier in Mazraat Yashouh/Lebanon www.marounhakim.com . Not only will you be welcomed warmly, but it will truly be a feast for the eyes. A recommended must see.
Paintings:
*Lover’s Union 2010 – 100x120cm – Acrylic on Canvas – price $11,500
*Radiating Summer 2010 – 120x130cm – Acrylic on Canvas – price $14,000
*The Dance of the Wounds 2010 – 100x100cm – Acrylic on Canvas – price $10,000
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