The painter and poet Etel Adnan passed away last weekend at the age of almost 100. Born of a Syrian father and a Greek mother, the artist was born in Lebanon, lived in Beirut, but also in Paris, Los Angeles or in the depths of Northern Brittany. A key figure in the Lebanese art scene, Etel Adnan is also celebrated and recognized internationally as a monument to art, writing and printmaking.
It took the art world a long time to recognize the incredible talent of this sunny and versatile artist, but for the past ten years or so, solo exhibitions and retrospectives have been following one another. The artist's paintings travel from the Guggenheim in New York to the Mudam in Luxembourg, via the Paul-Klee Center in Bern and the Luma Foundation in Arles. Last week, the Centre Pompidou in Metz inaugurated "Écrire, c'est dessiner", a subliminal exhibition that explores Etel Adnan's fascination with writing and signs.
Adnan's works are so current. They were considered "too decorative and not conceptual enough" by the avant-gardes of the 1970s, but they speak to the current trends. In museums, institutions, fairs or large art galleries, the walls are adorned with figurative paintings, canvases by Claire Tabouret, Marlene Dumas or Etel Adnan. These women considered as minors, who painted faces or landscapes in the greatest poetry, these artists forgotten by the men of the market, are finally honored.
Thanks to this belated but necessary recognition, we will be left with Etel Adnan's luminous paintings and the sweetness of her words for eternity.
“Love doesn’t die when we die. Itis our resurrection”
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Etel Adnan - 1925-2021
Crédits photographies :
© anaisbarelli