Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui

Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui (b. 1945) is a prize-winning Lebanese artist and graphic designer who was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She moved with her family to Lebanon in the 1960s and studied at the American University of Beirut, before transferring to the University of Arizona, Tucson. Here, Sehnaoui studied Fine Art and Graphic Design, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

A multi-disciplinary artist, Sehnaoui works in various formats, which range from painting, writing and design to sculpture and lithography. Her artwork is rooted in Middle Eastern cultural heritage, clearly evident in the incorporation of Byzantine, Persian and Phoenician iconography and symbols, and flat treatment of the colours she uses. Seemingly naïve, Sehnaoui’s paintings are also known for her hallmark interpretation of space, where shapes and lines meet and cross in a vibrant palette. Alongside historical and mythical scenes, aspects of nostalgic everyday life are among her chosen topics, including promenades on the Corniche, café life and tables showcasing fresh local fruit and flowers. And yet backdrops and details remind us that Sehnaoui’s ‘reality’ includes dark elements, rooted in the war years in Lebanon and related fight for survival.

As explained in the book ‘Extracts of Resonances - 82  Lebanese Artists’, reviewed by Helen Khal and edited by Cesar Nammour and Gabriela Schaub: “To Sehnaoui, as her paintings indicate, the reality of the war was seen in shadowed women standing at arched windows waiting in the dark. Reality was people seated in a sad row at a condolence visit. Reality was the blind musician creating his own world through music. Reality was a woman at her broken window, with walls shell-shattered and her phone and electricity lines hanging useless, reading a letter from her distant children.”

Sehnaoui is also known for becoming the first academically trained female graphic designer to set up a practice in the Arab region. She headed the Graphic Art Department of the National Council of Tourism, overseeing numerous projects that were instrumental in shaping and building Lebanon’s modern visual identity, including the famous Lebanon logo, designed for the Ministry of Culture in the 1960s and still used today. Other projects included posters, flyers, promotional books and stamps. 

Sehnaoui’s artwork has featured in several solo exhibitions in Lebanon and abroad, including, recently: ‘Tribute To Beirut’, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris (2021); ‘Recreation’, Aida Cherfan Fine Art,  Beirut (2019); ‘Gibran’, Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut (2017); ‘Surviving’, Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut (2015); ‘The Orient Within’,  Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut (2012); and ‘Arabian Roots’, Salwa Zeidan Gallery, Abu Dhabi (2011). Earlier solo shows took place at: Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut (2007); Galerie M, Paris (2007 and 2004); Green Art Gallery, Dubai (2002); and Janine Rubeiz Gallery (2001).

Sehnaoui’s work has also featured in numerous collectives, including: ‘Start’, Beirut (2012); ‘Rebirth’, Beirut Exhibition Center, BIEL (2011); ‘Convergence: New Art from Lebanon’, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Centre, Washington DC (2010); ‘Contemparabia’, Beirut (2010); ‘Les Créateurs au Musée’, National Museum, Beirut (2003); ‘Women by Women’, the Institute for Women’s Studies in The Arab World, Lebanese American University, Beirut (2003); and ‘Art Libanais’, Sursock Museum, Beirut (2001). Other group shows featuring her work took place at: Saga, Paris; the Arte Javits Centre, New York; Art Multiple, Duesseldorf, Germany; and the Barbican Centre, London, UK.

Sehnaoui’s work can be found in several public and private collections worldwide, including at the Institute of Arab Art, Paris, the Museum of Prints, Alexandria, the Sursock Museum, Beirut, the American University of Beirut and the Bank Audi Art Collection, Beirut. A highly respected writer, lithographer and university tutor, she is the recipient of several awards.