This is the artist's first solo exhibition in over forty years. It is held at the Sfeir-Semler gallery until April 15. The exhibition traces Haddad's pictorial work over the last fifty years of his artistic practice between Lebanon and the United States, and shows a unique collection of works from the early 1970s, shown here for the first time. In particular, the exhibition displays the artist's collages, which were created at the peak of his exploration of colour and form. Each collage begins with a basic painting using acrylic, oil, gouache, watercolour and graphite, among other materials.
When asked about his technique, Haddad says: "I have no formula, I have no story".
Farid Haddad is a Lebanese-American artist who grew up in Lebanon just before the civil war, at a crucial moment in the history of Lebanese and Arab modernism. This exhibition considers Haddad's work as a key chapter in the history of abstraction and minimalism in the region. "For the Age of Lebanon" covers the artist's earliest works, produced between 1971 and 1977, as well as his most recent works, from 2017 to 2022.
Photo: Farid Haddad, "Where do you want me to go?", Mixed Media Collage on Paper, Exhibition view, "For the Age of Lebanon", 2023, copyrights Sfeir Semler Gallery Beirut.