Monaco-based Jane Gemayel is taking a selection of her works on the road to exhibit at the Monaco Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo in January.
Artist Jane Gemayel has lived and worked in the Principality for three decades. Her unique approach uses the written word or artistic masters as inspiration, and in the case of her new upcoming exhibition at the World Expo in Dubai, she gets her creative bursts from unexpected quarters.
In her tribute to the poet Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet published in 1923, she weaves her art together in a meditative dance with the canvas. Using black boxes, she has meticulously collected all the substance of his work in quotes, press clippings, notes, associations of ideas and colour.
Gemayel’s next series is called ‘Woman, Heart, Innocence’ and brings forth a theme dear to her. The pieces have been created through her aesthetic research of the human form, particularly that of the female. Imbued with a classical heritage that she shares with masters who have inspired her, such as Matisse and Klimt, the artist shows the movement of a body in black ink in a spontaneous outline. Within the design, the dynamic is conveyed by arabesque motifs and dense lines executed in black ink, like a calligrapher. Sometimes the colour comes in the solid areas of acrylic paint in bold tones: red, gold or deep blue. Sacred and refined, these figures nonetheless exude a fragile beauty.
The artist’s ‘News as Muse’ series from 2016 uses images and writing as jumping off points. She captures the essence of today’s fast-paced, chaotic news media, asking people to question relationships to power and politics, as well as to the future of humankind and the planet. She explores topics such as love, tolerance, peace and freedom. What was a celebration in her Gibran works turns to pain and condemnation in these pieces.
The Monaco Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo will be transformed into an art gallery to house her collection on 12th and 13th January 2022. In its capacity as cultural operator, the Grimaldi Forum is organising this 90 m2 exhibition space for public viewings.