By Naima Morelli
Middle East Monitor, MEM | 26, January 2022
Floating in tar: interview with Palestinian artist Hani Zurob
"For a Palestinian who is in exile it is difficult to quantify or qualify one's losses; your struggles for your right to live become a constant. As for my gains, they lie in my art practice and art; my art is my heaven, it is the compass of my Self and Soul without which I am lost. When one is not deeply connected to one's Soul, life will be gruelling."
News
Christie’s Auction | Exposition & Auction
24 June 2020 - 16 July 2020
By Lindsay Judge
aeworld | 21, July 2020
Christine's recent charity auction I.M.A.gination hosed by the Impressionist & Modern Art department raised funds to help support Middle Eastern artists who have been affected by COVID-19. The online auction which was hosted in Paris achieved record numbers with global participation from art collectors and buyers raising a huge amount of money that outreached all estimates. The 44 lots offered from the collection of Claude and France Lemand, were by Middle Eastern, Japanese and French artists, which are also represented in the permanent collection of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.
a tribute to Notre-Dame cathedral, which sold for €27,500 and for French-Palestinian artist Hani Zurob whose work Maryamouna nearly tripled its pre-sale estimate, when selling for €43,750.
for more information
I.M.A.GINATION 44 oeuvres provenant de la collection Claude & France Lemand vendues au profit des artistes du musée de l’Institut du monde arabe
العربي الجديد - Jul 6, 2020 | كلود وفرانس لومان: مزاد فني في مواجهة صدمة الوباء
News
تأخذنا ليانا صالح في هذه الحلقة الخاصة من برنامج "ثقافة" الى دار كريستيز الباريسية التي خصصت ثلاث قاعات لاستقبال أربع وأربعين عملا فنيا من مجموعة كلود وفرانس لومون الشخصية
ريع هذا المزاد سيذهب لمساندة الفنانين الشباب ودعم صندوق كلود وفرانس لومون التابع لمتحف معهد العالم العربي
for more information
I.M.A.GINATION 44 oeuvres provenant de la collection Claude & France Lemand vendues au profit des artistes du musée de l’Institut du monde arabe
العربي الجديد - Jul 6, 2020 | كلود وفرانس لومان: مزاد فني في مواجهة صدمة الوباء
News
Hommage d'artistes à Notre-Dame - 2e volet | Exposition
14 Jan 2020 - 19 April 2020
En avril 2019, bouleversés par l’incendie qui venait de ravager la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, les collectionneurs Claude et France Lemand ont demandé à des artistes de leur fonds d’apporter leur témoignage en réponse à ce drame. Leur projet : constituer une collection d’œuvres en hommage à Notre-Dame, par des créateurs du monde arabe et des diasporas sensibles à cette thématique et totalement libres de leur expression et de leurs moyens. Cette collection est exposée par volets au musée de l’Institut du monde arabe, au fil de la réception des œuvres.
Après une première série présentée à l’occasion des Journées européennes du patrimoine 2019 (incluant les œuvres de Najia Mehadji, Mohamed Leketi, Boutros Al-Maari et Dia Al-Azzawi), l’IMA vient de procéder à un nouvel accrochage. On retrouve dans la nouvelle moisson, signée Manabu Kochi (Japon, 1954), Hani Zurob (Palestine, 1976), Hussein Taï (Iraq, 1966), Khaled Takreti (Syrie, 1964) et Nasser Al-Aswadi (Yémen, 1978), un même vent d’universalisme et de liberté – celui que fait depuis toujours souffler la collection Lemand.
Hani Zurob "Notre Marie" Le texte est en français
هاني زعرب "مريمتنا" نص باللغة العربية
plus d’informations sur l’exposition
News
A la plume, au pinceau, au crayon : dessins du monde arabe | Exposition
26 mars 2019 - 15 septembre 2019
Le musée de Institut du Monde Arabe IMA | Paris
Le musée de l’IMA présente une exposition inédite sur le dessin dans le monde arabe. A découvrir, une centaine d’œuvres issues de sa collection, récemment enrichie de la donation Claude & France Lemand. Ces dessins, pour la plupart figuratifs, datent du XIe siècle à nos jours, certains sont exposés pour la première fois.
plus d’informations sur l’exposition
Artist Residence
Csokako Hungary International Art Colony Masters of Palestinian Art | Season 2
By Raoul Mbog
Télérama magazine | Publié le 15 mars 2018
"Ou encore celle du Palestinien Hani Zurob, Exilé en France depuis dix ans. Pour le futur musée de son pays, le natif de Gaza a offert Stand by, un portrait géant défiguré avec du goudron et des pigments de henné, qui, pour lui, raconte l’exil. « Ce musée doit voir le jour. Je sais qu’ainsi, je pourrai rentrer chez moi. L’art nous aura alors libérés. C’est seulement grâce à lui que nous parviendrons à vivre comme tout le monde », souligne Hani Zurob, pour évoquer l’espoir que représente ce projet."
French language
plus d’informations sur l’exposition IMA, Paris
News
Pour un musée en Palestine | Exposition
10 mars - 20 mai 2018
L’Institut du Monde Arabe IMA | Paris
En février 2017, l’Institut du monde arabe exposait une sélection d’œuvres de la collection de solidarité du futur Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Palestine. Une première exposition qui a suscité depuis plus d’une cinquantaine de dons d’artistes européens et arabes parmi lesquels Claude Viallat, Hamed Abdalla, Robert Combas, Hervé di Rosa, Robert Scemla ou encore Rachid Koraïchi. Un an après le dévoilement de ce « pari » pris malgré les aléas de la conjoncture en Palestine et dans les pays alentours, l’Association d’Art moderne et contemporain en Palestine et son partenaire, l’Institut du monde arabe, présentent l’avancée du projet.
Inspiré par un poème de Mahmoud Darwish, « Nous aussi, nous aimons la vie », le titre de cette deuxième exposition de Pour un musée en Palestine réaffirme la volonté des artistes de voir un jour s’édifier un Musée d’art moderne et contemporain en Palestine. En une année, la collection s’est étoffée jusqu’à compter aujourd’hui plus de 140 œuvres toutes issues de dons solidaires d’artistes européens et arabes. Parallèlement à cet enrichissement, a débuté la prospection du terrain sur lequel s’élèveront les futurs bâtiments du Musée. Suivant la même démarche que pour la constitution de la collection à savoir le principe du don solidaire, les premiers contacts avec de grands architectes ont été noués pour envisager les modalités de leurs contributions. Les premières réponses sont positives et encourageantes.
plus d’informations sur l’exposition
By the London Middle East Institute at SOAS | University of London
The Middle East in London Magazine | Volume 13 - Number 3, April-May 2017
Cover page of the Issue by Hani Zurob,
Flying Lesson #04, 2010
Mixed media on canvas, 200 x 160 cm
بعد معرضه "حب بجودة منخفضة" 2015 في قاعة "برلوني" اللندنية،
ها هو الفنان الفلسطيني هاني زعرب يخرج إلينا بسلسلة أعمال جديدة تحت عنوان "زفت".
المعرض الشخصي الذي يستضيفه غاليري "كاب -منصة الفن المعاصر" في الكويت، في الثاني والعشرين من الشهر الجاري ليستمر حتى الثاني والعشرين من نيسان/أبريل 2017.
هاني زعرب في استديوهات مونت كارلو الدولية متحدثاً عن معرضه الجديد.
حاوره: غادة الخليل وطارق حمدان
For the Zeft solo exhibition
Contemporary Art Platform CAP | Kuwait
March 22 – April 22, 2017
Text by Yasmina Reggad
By PNN, Ramallah
Birzeit University Museum BZU | Palestine
March 13 - June 30, 2016
"The university expressed special thanks to the artists who had contributed with their works to Museum: Marwan Qassab Bashi, Kamal Boullata, Etel Adnan, Laila Shawa, Samia Halaby, Vladimir Tamari, Mona Bassili Sehnaoui, Rachid Qurayshi, Ismail Shammout, Nasser Soumi, Sari Khoury, Samira Badran, Mona Hatoum, Mona Saudi, Vera Tamari, Maurice Pasternak, Mizuko Yakuwa, Jorge Shmeitzer, Guy Cobb, and Lois Nakhleh, Sliman Mansur, Suha Shoman,
Nabil Anani, Tayseer Barakat, Emily Jacir, Rula Halawani, Hosni Radwan, Taysir Batniji , Samir Salameh, Hani Zurob, Jawad al Malhi, Jumana Manaa, Raeda Saadeh, Inass Yassin, Sharif Waked, Ahmad Kanaan, Khalil Rabah, Tayseer Sharaf, Yazan Al khalili, Amer Shomali, Omarivs Ioseph, Filivs Dinæ, Bashir Makhoul, and John Halaka."
هاني زُعرب: اللوحة وتحّولاتها النصية
By Naser Jawabra | نصر جوابرة
العربي الجديد | January 29, 2015
Arabic language
"سرديات هاني زعرب: أزمنة "حب بجودة منخفضة
By Mohamad Omran | محمد عمران
العربي الجديد | November 29, 2015
Arabic language
For the Low-Quality Love solo exhibition
Berloni Gallery | London, UK
November 25 – December 19, 2015
Text by Dorothea Schöne
Berlin-based art historian and director of Kunsthaus Dahlem
News
Walls and Margins | Exposition
Curated by | Suheyla Takesh
Barjeel Art Foundation | Sharjah, UAE
21 October, 2015 - 1 February, 2016
Soon after people learned how to lead a sedentary lifestyle, and began building permanent dwellings and settlements, the idea of a protective fence was developed. Devised as a security measure, it is a separation of what is in versus what is out, what is accessible versus what is off limits. The fence, which was conceived of as a tangible, physical barrier, also introduced – and at times encouraged – the accentuation of ideological differences between inhabitants and outsiders, members and non-members. These differences could be apparent in the form of distinct languages, or varying, and often contradicting, belief systems, social structures, and political agendas. Protective fences gradually evolved into the notion of geographical borders, and a clear, formalised designation of national identities – i.e. a formal system of members and non-members.
At present, many barriers remain physical. These can be observed in the form of walls, bodies of water, or guarded national borders, which prevent or control the physical movement of people from one side of the enclosure to the other. In the past two decades, dividing systems have figured prominently in the construction of the world’s political landscape. These, among many others, include the continued construction of the Separation Wall in Palestine,
the control exerted over Tangier’s citizens’ movement through the Strait of Gibraltar, and most recently, the barriers being erected in various parts of Europe and the Middle East in order to control the vast influx of war refugees.
Other boundaries, however, are intangible and manifest through differences in religious views, linguistic affiliations, and people’s individual outlooks on subjects like politics or sexuality. Such obstacles – both physical and ideological – often lead to the exclusion from conventional society of various subcultures, minorities, and groups that deviate from the established norm – as is the case with many immigrants, exiles and people that are explicitly marginalised due to their religious or gender-related convictions.
This exhibition looks at works of art, which tackle the effects and consequences of established walls and barriers, both physical and ideological. It aims to highlight that while some of these dividing systems occur naturally, many are conscious human constructs, and ideas of us and them, inside and outside are often fabricated. As the sense of isolation that stems from being walled in or out is often encountered on an individual level, many of the works featured in this exhibition tell personal stories and provide private vantage points on larger issues.
view full catalogue - PDF
Article in the context of the exhibition: Along the Path: 150 Years of Palestinian Art
By George Al Ama and Nada Atrash
This Week In Palestine Journal | ISSUE 207, July 2015
Cover page of the Issue by Hani Zurob,
Flying Lesson #09, 2011
Mixed media on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
By Diana Abouali | Director, Arab American National Museum (AANM)
Santa Dunyamiz Turkish magazine | ISSUE 139, p110 - p115 | March 2014
Article in English and Turkish language
Review by Richard M. Sanchez
The Art Book Review | October 21, 2013
"Following the unfolding of a decade of art produced by Hani Zurob, this chronicle follows his shuttling exile from his home studio in Ramallah which he left in 2006 to his arrival and practice in Paris. The publication presents a close observation of the evolution of Zurob’s paintings between 2002 and 2012, amongst a backdrop of sociopolitical and cultural forces. Attempting to trace the stellated growth of the artist in accord with his lived experiences at home and in exile, the book reveals a body of work created through a flux of changing periods."
"Zurob’s practice reveals an oeuvre of evolving approaches of understanding the events experienced that are not fixed in time, but fleeting from one subject to the other. Between figuration and abstraction, examining and questioning the conflicted Palestinian identity throughout an excavation of memories and an identification of the self, and always the artist looking back, activating past events and classifying them in order to understand a particular moment. Zurob belongs to the first generation of leading Palestinian artists whose work has evolved with the coming of the twenty-first century, as well as being at the vanguard of significant contributions to a contemporary Arab aesthetic, a special place in a developing canon."
By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn | June 27, 2013
By Sarah Irving
The Electronic Intifada | June 17, 2013
"A Palestinian painter from Gaza, Hani Zurob may have only been practicing as a fine artist since the late 1990s, but he already has an enviable list of solo shows — twelve, spread between Qatar, France, Palestine and Morocco — and joint exhibitions. The latter have included shows in venues as prestigious as L’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the national museums of Bahrain and Syria, and the Henry Moore Institute in the UK. And in January, he was listed as one of The Huffington Post’s “10 international artists to watch in 2013.”
Zurob’s reputation and profile will be further enhanced by the publication of Between Exits, a monograph on his life and work. Despite his comparative youth (he is just 37), this collection of images, alongside a wide-ranging text by Kamal Boullata (probably best known for his monumental book Palestinian Art: From 1850 to the Present), shows just how versatile and energetic an artist Zurob is
Boullata’s text does not pull any punches in asserting Zurob’s place as an artist whose work deserves attention not because of his national origin or life story, but because of its artistic quality. The preface opens with this challenge: “In a homeland enduring over 40 years of military occupation, where art is saturated with nationalist clichés and tired iconographic images, how does a young and ambitious talent like Hani Zurob break away from the binds of the local mainstream to explore his own originality in painting?”
Resilience and Light | Painting messages – the recent works of Palestinian artist Hani Zurob
By Michelle Davis
REORIENT. | Is a Magazine Celebrating Contemporary Middle Eastern Arts and Culture
By India Stoughton
The Daily Star (Lebanon) | April 12, 2013
"Some pictures, as one old warhorse of expression would have it, are worth a thousand words.
Telling a story that needs no introduction, explanation or elucidation, some artworks can be isolated from context and remain powerful, engaging and readily absorbed. Others thrive in the discussion.
While many Arab artists suffer from being over-contextualized and pigeonholed – their work always approached from the perspective of their nationality or ethnicity – there are instances where scrutinizing an artist’s practice with biography in mind can be no bad thing."
News
Resilience & Light | Exposition, Centemporary Palestinian Art
Curated by | Aser El Saqqa, Arts Canteen
Studio 3 Gallery, School of Arts, University of Kent, UK | London, UK
Arts Canteen | London, UK
11 April - 18 May, 2013
By Katherine Brooks | The Huffington Post
The new year has officially begun, dear readers, which means it is time to discard your inhibitions and prepare yourself for what the next 12 months of emerging art has to offer.
Since we have already given you our guide to the 25 art exhibits we can not wait to see in 2013, we know you have at least a few creative events to watch out for this year. Now we think it only fair to give you a taste of international artists on the horizon as well. We narrowed the list down to 10 international sculptors, painters, sketchers and filmmakers who have piqued our interest in 2013.
WHO: Hani Zurob, a Palestinian exile working in Paris whose abstract and figurative works straddle the line between Paul Gauguin and Lucien Freud. Favorite concepts for the artist include identity, collective belonging and movement, and he often incorporates images of his son within his work.
WHY: Though he has only been working as an artist since the early 2000s, he is the subject of a recently released book titled Between Exits: Paintings by Hani Zurob. We are excited to see what the artist has in store for 2013.
By Katherine | The Huffington Post
Hani Zurob is a Palestinian artist in exile, unable to return to his home in Gaza since a trip he made to Paris in 2006. He remains in France today, creating works that explore movement and displacement — concepts that remain close to the painter s heart.
A recently released book titled “Between Exits: Paintings by Hani Zurob” traces the path of the artist career, covering his creative period in Palestine through to his development as an exiled artist’s in Europe. Organized chronologically, the volume offers a glimpse into the work of a contemporary Palestinian artist whose understanding of identity and collective belonging has changed throughout his cross-continental journey.
Spanning two decades of work, the book moves from Zurob’s abstract figures, reminiscent of the vivid colors of Paul Gauguin and the dreamy brushwork of Lucien Freud, to his series titled “Flying Lesson”, comprised of images of his son in Paris. Incorporating both the spiritual and aspirational interpretations of flying, the latter collection of works is but one example of the artist’s tendency to combine aspects of the Arab aesthetic with his own take on contemporary Palestinian culture.
Beyond the various images of Zurob’s work, the book includes photographs of the artist himself as well as his studio, providing a rich profile of the displaced artist as a whole. The artwork is also accompanied by an essay from Jean Fisher, who comments on states of occupation and exile, and the writings of Kamal Boullata, who places Zurob’s work in the greater context of collective identity.
Taken together, the pieces of “Between Exits” show how one man copes with the ever-changing realities of Palestine. Scroll through a selection of Zurob’s work in the slideshow below and let us know what you think of the book in the comments section.
Monograph
Between Exits Paintings by Hani Zurob
Kamal Boullata
Introduction: Jean Fisher
Hani Zurob is a Palestinian artist in exile, unable to return to his home in Gaza since a trip he made to Paris in 2006. He remains in France today, creating works that explore movement and displacement — concepts that remain close to the painters heart.
A recently released book titled “Between Exits: Paintings by Hani Zurob” traces the path of the artist career, covering his creative period in Palestine through to his development as an exiled artist’s in Europe. Organised chronologically, the volume offers a glimpse into the work of a contemporary Palestinian artist whose understanding of identity and collective belonging has changed throughout his cross-continental journey.
Spanning two decades of work, the book moves from Zurob’s abstract figures, reminiscent of the vivid colors of Paul Gauguin and the dreamy brushwork of Lucien Freud, to his series titled “Flying Lesson”, comprised of images of his son in Paris. Incorporating both the spiritual and aspirational interpretations of flying, the latter collection of works is but one example of the artist’s tendency to combine aspects of the Arab aesthetic with his own take on contemporary Palestinian culture.
Beyond the various images of Zurob’s work, the book includes photographs of the artist himself as well as his studio, providing a rich profile of the displaced artist as a whole. The artwork is also accompanied by an essay from Jean Fisher, who comments on states of occupation and exile, and the writings of Kamal Boullata, who places Zurob’s work in the greater context of collective identity.
Taken together, the pieces of “Between Exits” show how one man copes with the ever-changing realities of Palestine. Scroll through a selection of Zurob’s work in the slideshow below and let us know what you think of the book in the comments section.
By Annick Colonna-Césari
L′Exprees Magazine N° 3170 | semaine du 4 au 10 avril 2012
French language
Connaissance des Arts Magazine H. S. | N° 528 semaine du 4 au 10 avril 2012
French language
News
L’IMA présente, du 27 mars au 26 August 2012, une grande exposition d’art moderne et contemporain sur le thème de la représentation du corps et du nu dans les arts visuels arabes. La représentation du corps dans les arts visuels arabes constitue une matière jusqu’ici ignorée, une sorte de terra incognita pour le moins inexplorée. On aurait ainsi pu s’attendre à ce que ces représentations n’existent pratiquement pas dans la peinture arabe ; or, à travers le corps, c’est tout un pan méconnu d’une riche iconographie qui vient à se découvrir.
C’est à cette quête et à cette découverte tout à la fois, que sera convié le public d’une exposition pleine de surprises, Le Corps Découvert. Cette exposition a pour ambition de rassembler, sur deux étages, une large sélection d’oeuvres et de médiums permettant d’aborder cette question de manière synchronique et diachronique à la fois.
De la même manière qu’il s’est pris naguère d’un intérêt soudain pour les artistes chinois ou les artistes indiens, le monde de l’art s’est récemment tourné vers les créateurs arabes. L’Institut du monde arabe, organisateur depuis vingt-cinq ans qu’il existe, de plus d’une centaine d’expositions d’artistes arabes ne peut, bien sûr, que se féliciter d’un engouement auquel il ne se sent certes pas étranger.
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By Kamal Bullata | كمال بلّاطة
Arabic language
By Steve Sabella
Contemporary Practices Journal, VIII | Dubai 2011
"Artist Hani Zurob poetically describes the change he went through when he moved from Ramallah to Paris: ‘In Ramallah, the fish thinks it swims in an ocean, just to discover later that the ocean was only a barrel. You know what a real ocean is when you live in one. In Paris, I was shocked and liberated at the same time.’ "
By Steve Sabella
Contemporary Practices Journal, VII | Dubai 2010
"Hani Zurob, one of the most significant painters of the new generation of Palestinian artists to emerge in the last decade, expresses, ‘the best thing that happened to my art was the moment when I arrived in Paris because what I learned in the last four years might have taken me a lifetime back in Palestine.’"
By Adania Shibli
Contemporary Practices Journal, VI | Dubai 2010
By Kamal Boullata
International Gallerie Journal | ISSUE 25, Volume 12 no.2 - Desember 2009
By Robert Kluijver
October 2009
"The kind of activist indignation that permeates the videos of the elder artist Suha Shoman is rarely to be found among the young artists. They may give expression to their rage, such as Hani Zurob in his impressive Standby paintings, but they are too wizened to claim the moral high ground".
By Sarah Ilher-Meyer
Publié dans Zéro Deux | 2009
"Ainsi de Standby 60. Juxtaposées les unes à côté des autres, six toiles présentent la silhouette d’un homme assis, à genoux, recroquevillé ou tête baissée, sur fond de grands coups de pinceau et d’empâtements de matière brune, noire ou pourpre. Mieux qu’une simple représentation, qui réduit le réel au pensable en même temps qu’elle le désigne, la violence des traces de couleur, conjuguée à la prostration du personnage, donne à sentir l’impensable, à savoir le désespoir et la colère".
By Michael Z. Wise
The Los Angeles Times | July 1, 2007
Director: Jessica Habie
Meet Me Out of the Siege
received the Best Short Documentary Prize
Cannes Short Film Corner - Cannes, May 2007
Category | Documentary
Type | Shortfilm
Directed | Jessica Habie
produced | Nirah Shirazipour
Associate Producer | Najwan Darwish
Running time | 13:10
Country of production | France, Palestine
Year of production | 2007
Production | Eyes Infinite FIlms
Distribution | Eyes Infinite FIlms
Synopses:
Experiences of the artist in exile. Hani Zurob, one of Palestine’s most prominent emerging visual artists, has been stuck in Paris for over a year. His forced immobility is but another chapter in life so chronicled by restrictions and human rights violations. Originally traveling to France for a uniquely permitted three-month stay, Hani has been unable to return to his wife and his homeland due to Israel’s sudden severance of all diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority after the democratic election of the Hamas Government. Hani is joined in Paris by another deeply respected Palestinian artist, Kamal Boullata, who shares his own story of exile that began in 1967 when he was forced to leave his home of Jerusalem. Meet Me Out of the Siege unravels the stories of both men, and observes as these two resilient and patient artists, reunited unexpectedly after many years, reflect on the origins of creativity, the pressures of everyday life under occupation, and the geometric language of exile.
You can Watch the movie here ∨
By Amira Hass
Haaretz Newspaper | January 9, 2006
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © HANI ZUROB 2019