Untitled

“Man is a unity that embodies both the means and the goals... Art is the unification with the beauty of love and altruism that seeks continuous emancipation throughout life.”
- Aref El Rayess

This haunting, mixed media work on canvas by the prolific, award-winning Lebanese artist depicts a small gathering of people seemingly watching and waiting. There is a sense of anticipation in the work, heightened by the opening through which one of the characters appears to be keeping watch. The use of velvet, dusky colours adds to the atmosphere, indicating a twilight or dawn scene, while a central splash of pink suggests a child’s face and gives a feel of the nativity to the entire composition. A native of Aley, Mount Lebanon, El Rayess started out as a self-taught, multi-media artist, who practiced painting, etching, sculpture and tapestry. El Rayess lived in Africa for many years, traveling between Senegal and Paris. While based in France, he joined several ateliers, while also studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He then spent time in Florence after gaining a scholarship from the Italian government. In 1963, El Rayess returned to Lebanon, where he worked and taught at the Lebanese University and the American Lebanese University.

A modern avant-garde artist, he embraced several genres during his career, from naïf to expressionist, before moving to abstract art. His work has featured in many collective and solo exhibitions worldwide and can also be found in public and private collections, including the Unesco Palace in Paris and Palestine Square, Jeddah.