Zena El Khalil (born 1976) is a Lebanese artist, writer, and activist.

Biography

El Khalil attained her undergraduate degree from the American University in Beirut. In 2002 El Khalil received her Masters of Fine Arts from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York. El Khalil works in a variety of formats ranging from

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

, performance,

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

, and collage. Themes that are central to her work include issues of violence as well as gender using materials found throughout Beirut. Photocopied images of militiamen and women, civilians and family members are embellished with plastic flowers,

glitter Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...

, strings of lights, keffiyehs, plastic toy soldiers, toy AK-47s,

arabesques The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, beads, fabrics, and other objects. She has had solo exhibitions in London, Munich, and Beirut. El Khalil currently lives and works 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 ...

. During the July War in Lebanon, El Khalil immediately began maintaining beirutupdate from her apartment in Beirut. Her

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

was a personal account of the siege on Beirut that lasted for 33 days and its impact on her and the people around her. It quickly received international attention and was highly publicized on news portals such as CNN and the BBC. Excerpts were published in daily papers, including The Guardian and Der Spiegel Online. Her writing was also included in the anthology ''Lebanon, Lebanon'' published by Saqi Books. In the aftermath of that war, Zena El Khalil curated with Sandra Dagher Nafas Beirut, a multimedia exhibition including 40 artists testimonies of the war. In 2008 El Khalil also completed her first novel, ''Beirut, I Love You''. The book is a memoir about El Khalil's life from 1994 to the present and specifically focuses on growing up in Beirut during a period of immense turmoil. There are also rumors that the book is going to be made into a film.

Work

Solo exhibitions

* 2017 "Sacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanon" - Beit Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon * 2008 "Maybe One Day Beirut Will Love Me Back." – The Flawless Gallery, Berardi-Sagharchi Projects London, UK * 2006 "I Love You." – Espace SD, Beirut, Lebanon * 2004 "Wahad Areese, Please!" ("A Husband, Please!") - Le Laboratoire, Espace SD, Beirut, Lebanon * 2003 "of love and war..." – Signature Art Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria

Selected group exhibitions

* 2013 "Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World"

Mori Art Museum The is a contemporary art museum founded by the real estate developer Minoru Mori (1934–2012) in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex both of which he built in Tokyo, Japan. The exterior architect of the museum's ga ...

, Tokyo, Japan * 2013 "Art13 London" - Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK * 2012 "Art is the Answer!"

Villa Empain The Villa Empain is a former private residence in Brussels, Belgium, which currently serves as a cultural centre and exhibition space. Built in 1930–1934 in Art Deco style by the Swiss-Belgian architect , the villa was commissioned by Baron L ...

, Brussels, Belgium * 2008 "But, I Can't Let Go" Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany * 2007 "The Resilient Landscape" – Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney Australia * "More Than Light Could Bear" – Art Lounge, Beirut, Lebanon * "Ana "Njassa Al Fan" ("I Pear Art") – Dialogpunkt Deutsch, Tripoli, Lebanon * 2006 "Pure Pop" – Art Lounge, Beirut, Lebanon * "Nafas Beirut" – Espace SD Beirut, Lebanon * "Imagining Ourselves" – International Museum of Women, San Francisco, USA

References

External links

Official Website of Zena El Khalil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalil, Zena El 1976 births Living people Installation artists Performance artists Lebanese writers Pop artists Lebanese activists Lebanese painters Date of birth missing (living people) Lebanese women artists Women performance artists Women installation artists Lebanese women painters 21st-century women artists