Hanibal Srouji (born 1957 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

) is a Lebanese painter. He graduated in 1987 from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He lived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

before returning in his country. Srouji developed a technique of burning holes in his paintings after having participated to numerous workshops in America and Europe, including the Triangle Arts Trust. He currently teaches at the Lebanese American University.

Life and work

Srouji's art deals with his nostalgia for Lebanon, as he emigrated at the beginning of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. At the beginning of the war, Srouji served as

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

volunteer in Southern Lebanon, an experience he later compared to horror movies. He ultimately escaped from

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

by boat to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

before emigrating to Canada. Shortly after the end of the war, Srouji traveled back to Lebanon to try to pick up the pieces. Hanibal Srouji became known for using a blow-torch to create small hales and lines. His paintings remind one of bullet-marked walls of crippled buildings in

and encompass the human emotions in the aftermath of the civil war. Another series has been dominated by vertical lines that represent the bars of a cage, as signs of confinement, but can also be read as bars of a musical composition. Although Srouji is considered as an abstract painter, his recent work, ''Terre/Mer'' ("''land/sea''"), evoked landscapes.

Awards

* Ahmed Asseleh Prize, Algiers, 1999 * "Mérite et dévouement français", Art Silver Medal, 1997 * 49th Saint-Cloud exhibition Grand Prize, Musée des Avelines, 1997.

Publications

* Hanibal Srouji: Painting fire, water, earth and air,

Gregory Buchakjian Gregory Buchakjian (born 1971, in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese photographer, filmmaker and art historian. He studied at the Paris-Sorbonne University. He is the director of the School of Visual Arts at Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts ALBA an ...

and Sary Tadros (Galerie Janine Rubeiz, 2013) * Paroles d’Artistes: Hanibal Srouji (L’Agenda Culturel, 2010)

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*"Anti Gravity", Galerie Eulenspiegel, Basel, Switzerland,2016 *Into the Clouds, Singapore Art Fair, with Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Singapore, 2014 *Head in the Clouds, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2014 *Cages, June Kelly Gallery, New York, 2011 *Healing Bands, Europia, Paris, 2011 *Hanibal Srouji, FFA Private Bank, Beirut, 2010 *Healing Bands, Galerie Eulenspiegel, Basel, 2009 *Offrandes, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2009 *Touches, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2006 *Hanibal Srouji, Service Culturel Municipal, Gentilly, 2005 *Hanibal Srouji, Galerie Eulenspiegel, Basel, 2004 *Hanibal Srouji, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2003 *Transformations, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2003 *Particules, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 1997

Group exhibitions

*"Musee Sursock, 32e Salon D’AutomneE", Sursock Museum, Beirut, 2016 *"BITASARROF", the Lebanese national Library, 2016 *"MAC International", The MAC's first open arts prize – Shortlisted 2014 – Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2014 �

*"Syri-Arts, 101 Works of Art for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon", Beirut Exhibition Center, 2013 *"Tjreed – a selection of Arab Abstract Art, 1908–1960", CAP, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait, 2013 *"Vous avez dit Abstrait" – Exposition collective, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, 2013 *"Art Dubai, 2013", & "ABU DHABI Art, 2013", Galerie Janine Rubeiz, UAE, 2013 *Pellicula, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2013 *Vous avez dit abstrait?, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, 2013 *Subtitled: With Narratives from Lebanon, Royal College of Art, London, 2011
Rebirth, Lebanon 21st Century Contemporary Art, Beirut Exhibition Art Center, Beirut, 2011
*Convergence, New Art from Lebanon, The American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC, 2010

References

External links

Website of Hanibal SroujiHanibal Srouji at Galerie Janine Rubeiz
* ttp://www.galerieeulenspiegel.ch/Kunstler%20der%20Galerie/englischsrouji.html Hanibal Srouji at Galerie Eulenspiegel, Basel {{DEFAULTSORT:Srouji, Hanibal Lebanese painters Artists from Beirut 1957 births Living people Concordia University alumni Lebanese American University faculty