The sheikh is leaving

The facial details might be scant, but the hallmark characteristics of traditional headwear and beard tell us that the subject of the Lebanese artist Mounira Al Solh’s work in this painting is a man of certain standing. Seemingly suspended on a stand, this portrait with a difference is captivating in the extreme; the hollow, black eyes give the protagonist an air of bathos, chiming with the work’s title, and reinforcing the theme of departure on both specific and broader levels. The simple, stark white background, challenged only by the metallic, black base, simply adds to the subject’s apparent solitariness.

Born in 1978 in Beirut, Al Solh studied painting at the Lebanese University in her home city and at Fine Arts, the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Aside from painting, she works across a range of media, including embroidery,drawing and video installations. Al Solh has held several solo exhibitions, most recently at the Art Institute Chicago (2018), ALT, Istanbul (2016), KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2014) and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut (2014).

Group exhibitions include the 56th Venice Biennial, Italy (2015). Her work can also be found in public collections around the world, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Pinakotheek, Munich; Saradar Art Collection, Beirut; and Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis.