Etel adnan earned degrees at the sorbonne in paris and studied at berkeley and harvard. Her father was a muslim syrian and her mother was a christian greek. Critical essays on the arabamerican writer and artist. Because her mother was from greece and her father was from damascus, adnan grew up speaking greek and turkish in addition to arabic and french. Oct 30, 2016 etel adnan executes her smallscale abstract oil paintings with a palette knife.
As the first book published by the postapollo press, from a to z, in the original edition, has now become a collectors item about the author etel adnan was born in beirut, lebanon in 1925, the daughter of a greek christian from smyrna and a high ranking ottoman officer from damascus. Etel adnan was born in lebanon in 1925 and lives and works in paris and sausalito, ca. Excerpts from the new poem sea appears as a first edition. Kaelen was holding etels new book, sea and fog, in her hand.
Lebaneseamerican artist, philosopher, and poet etel adnans recent publication, night nightboat books, 2016, is in equal measure a series of meditations on intersubjectivity and spirituality, and a dialogue between prose poetry and short verse. Etel adnan gerhard richter the flag art foundation. Etel adnan is in the same tradition as many figures in the past who were painters and poets but in both the poetry and short stories she is a unique voice. Mar 16, 2009 etel adnan is in her mid 80s and she is one of my heroes. Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. Etel adnan books list of books by author etel adnan. Archival pigment print on cottonrag fine art paper image size. Once things leave my files, etel adnan wrote to me, i never know where they are, and dont think about them anymore, otherwise you lose your mind. Throughout the work, her narrator often muses on whats in store for. Etel adnans evocative new book places night at its center to unearth memories held in the body, the spirit and the landscape. Follow etel adnan and explore their bibliography from s etel adnan author page. Galerie lelong is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition by the lebaneseborn artist and writer etel adnan. An etel adnan reader and her more recent diptych sea and fog winner of the lambda literary award for lesbian poetry, and the california book award for poetry.
Aug 02, 2016 adnan rigorously asserts that reason and memory move together. But in recent years it has become a sort of cult destination for artworld figures, mentioned and mythologised by the various curators and critics who go to meet her, as well as depicted in filmportraits of the artist. She was also missing out on the impressive turnout in her honor in new yorks lower east side. Multiethnic literature of the united states besides her literary output, adnan continues to produce visual. Her earliest works were abstract compositions with squares of colors directly applied from the tube. Etel adnan at callicoon fine arts contemporary art daily. Jun 22, 2018 etel adnan s lovely, simple compositions argue for the persistence of peaceful landscapesdespite whatever violence pervades the daily news. She is an iconic lebaneseamerican cultural figure and i had hoped to meet her. Poet, essayist, and painter etel adnan was born in beirut, lebanon. Lebaneseamerican poet jess rizkallahs the magic my body becomes is the inaugural winner of the etel adnan poetry prize for a first or second. And stephanie says, of etel adnan, her work showed up in my life one. Her mother was a greek from smyrna, her father, a high ranking ottoman officer born in damascus. In 1972, she moved back to beirut and worked as cultural editor for two daily newspapersfirst for al safa, later for lorient le jour. In january 1955 she went to the united states to pursue postgraduate studies in philosophy at.
See all books authored by etel adnan, including sitt marie rose, and night, and more on. T heres something curiously familiar about visiting etel adnans apartment in paris. Master of the eclipse is short stories, full of filmmakers, poets, and it moves between geographies she lives near san francisco, but also in paris and beirut. Pink whale, 2017, colored print on paper, 19 x 15 25. Though she grew up speaking greek and turkish in a primarily arabicspeaking society, she was educated at french convent schools and french became the language in which her early work was first written. In 2003, adnan was named arguably the most celebrated and. For over five decades, shes made smallscale paintings of mountains, skies, and water, all rendered in interlocking color blocks.
May 08, 2015 galerie lelong is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition by the lebaneseborn artist and writer etel adnan. The lebaneseamerican writer and painter etel adnan, 89, commands a small but prominent corner of the current whitney biennial, her. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The flag art foundation presents etel adnan gerhard richter on its 9th floor gallery from january 19 may, 2017. As if she wasnt busy enough, adnan continued to paint and exhibit, showing work in beirut and rabat, morocco. Etel adnan is one of the greatest artists of our time, and a great inspiration to many artists. Etel adnan is a contemporary americanlebanese painter and writer known for her vibrantly colored, abstracted renditions of mountains, ocean, and sky. Jess is a young poet from the boston area whos living in brooklyn now and working on a graduate degree at nyu. The exhibition initiates a conversation between two masters of contemporary painting, from the vastly different backgrounds of beirut and germany. Etel adnan and curator rebecca lewin talk about adnans first solo exhibition in a uk public institution, which shows work from across her career. For etel adnan, art world success came late in her eighties. Seasons by adnan, etel and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Master of the eclipse, interlink books, 2009 winner of the pen oakland award, 2010.
Selected bibliography continued etel adnan works in languages other than. Lebaneseamerican artist, philosopher, and poet etel adnans recent publication, night, is in equal measure a series of meditations on intersubjectivity and spirituality, and a dialogue between. Jun 16, 2018 t heres something curiously familiar about visiting etel adnans apartment in paris. Museum haus konstruktiv etel adnan kuratorin sabine schaschl videobericht melanie moser 2015. Etel adnan is in her mid 80s and she is one of my heroes. Adnans vibrant, expressive paintings, works on paper, and tapestries demonstrate her commitment to communication beyond the confines of the written or spoken word, and her use of color, shape, gesture, and perception help to create the landscapes for which she is well known in. Etel adnan is a lebaneseamerican poet, essayist, and visual artist. She is one of the great poets of her time and also a wonderful visual artist.
In the conservation that followed, ohanlon learned that etel was a professor of aesthetics at the college, that she had never before watched artists at work, and that not since childhood had she herself explored the. Adnans works poetically interpret the northern californian landscape around san francisco bay, where she has spent much of her life. In her book of cities and women letters to fawwaz 1993, adnan illustrates cultural experience via a collection of letters from cities throughout europe and beirut. The book is set before and during lebanons civil war and is based. Etel adnans novel paris, when its naked amazes our retinas, ears, lips, fingertips, and noses with sensing, talking, and envisioning the city of baudelaire and delacroix, mallarme and picasso, sartre and djuna barnes, miller and nin, vietnamese and african refugees, revolutions and bohemia. The lebaneseamerican writer and painter etel adnan, 89, commands a small but prominent corner of the current whitney biennial, her landscapes and accordionfold books amounting. Etel adnan was born in 1925 and raised in beirut, lebanon. She is part of my project to map the 21st century, both in a book and an online map im interested in how artists.
A twovolume collection, to look at the sea is to become what one is. Adnan was first an author of poetry and prose, often addressing and protesting against the turmoil of the vietnam war and the lebanese civil war. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. She recalls sitting for hours copying words from an arabic grammar without. She is a recipient of a pen oaklandjosephine miles award, the california book award, a lambda book award, and a chevalier des arts et des lettres. This conversation focuses on etel adnans twovolume selected works to look at the sea is to become what one is. But she argues that a remembered event is a return to a mystery, and her writing is eyeopeningly lush, gorgeous, even surreal waves of roses are blanketing memory, showing us the mind at work on its unstructured, uncertain edges. Her poetry collection sea and fog won the california book award for. Its hard for her to travel these days, photi told me. Civil war broke out in the country in 1975, and adnan moved back to paris the next year. In the conservation that followed, ohanlon learned that etel was a professor of aesthetics at the college, that she had never before watched artists at work, and that not since childhood had she herself explored the actual mechanics of the creative process.
The daughter of a greek christian mother and a syrian muslim father, she spoke both greek and arabic with her parents, but french became her primary language upon enrolling in a french lebanese catholic school at the age of five. Id so much rather talk your ear off inperson at malvern about all the gifts this. The 91yearold lebaneseamerican artist and writer has always worked this way. The daughter of a greek christian mother and a syrian muslim father, she spoke both greek and arabic with her parents, but french became her primary language upon enrolling in a french lebanese catholic. Etel adnan a resource for information, news, writing, artwork. Printed on the occasion of the exhibition etel adnan at the irish museum of modern art, dublin, 5 th june th september 2015.
Jul 20, 2016 etel adnan and curator rebecca lewin talk about adnan s first solo exhibition in a uk public institution, which shows work from across her career including paintings, drawings, poetry, film and. Etel adnan to write in a foreign language languages start at home. In 2003, adnan was named arguably the most celebrated and accomplished arab american author writing today by the academic journal melus. As the legendary palestinian poet mahmoud darwish once said, she has never written a bad line.
Both artists continue to challenge the concept of working in a single style. Oct 15, 2016 lebaneseamerican artist, philosopher, and poet etel adnans recent publication, night, is in equal measure a series of meditations on intersubjectivity and spirituality, and a dialogue between. Well known for her staunchly political writing, etel adnans visual productionwhich includes film, textiles, bookmaking, and paintingstems from a more spiritual engagement with the world. See available works on paper, paintings, and prints and multiples for sale and learn about. Anna coatman met the writer and painter in paris ahead of a major show in london. Adnan s mother was a christian greek from smyrna and her father was muslim syrian and a petty officer. This book is a necessary handbook for all of us who are navigating the treacherous. Gates of the city by elias khoury, paula haydar world literature today, 1994. Join facebook to connect with etel adnan and others you may know. Its a book of prose and poetry that had just been released by nightboat books, a small, independent press from callicoon, new york. Oct 18, 2012 the book was translated into dozens of languages and is regarded as an important contribution to arab feminism. In the late 1950s, after her studies at the sorbonne and at harvard, she taught philosophy at the university of california and started to paint.
An axploration of a cosmic yet interior landscape, with an urgency negotiating ones place in a fraught world, seeking to blur the edges of certain boundaries. List of works all artworks by date 110 10 all artworks by date 101 10 all artworks by name 10 styles abstract expressionism 3 color field painting 7. Etel adnan on exhibiting with gerhard richter and the politics of landscape painting a new exhibition at the flag art foundation brings the two giants together. For over sixty yearsas a painter, poet and the maker of exquisite.
Just as adnans work has spread widely across a range of artistic and intellectual practices most consistently. Etel adnan a resource for information, news, writing. I learned in it to decline verbs, and short sentences which explained the use of the verb forms. Her awardwinning novel, sitt marie rose 1977, critiques lebanese societys treatment of women and its religious intolerance.
Current events random article donate to wikipedia wikipedia store. Etel adnan executes her smallscale abstract oil paintings with a palette knife. Multilingual lebanese poet, painter, and proseartist etel adnan was born. Etel adnan inhabits and embodies a beautiful plurality that, for me, is about being an arab. She is part of my project to map the 21st century, both in a book and an online map im interested in how artists, web designers and poets, map our complex moment in time. The best books on contemporary art five books expert. The book of the sea in arabic composed in beirut around 1951, is handwritten by etel adnan. Adnan is hailed as one of the most important living writers of middle eastern descent, and her work has been widely published and translated. In her world, each of these activities gives its images and its movements to the otherswhatever an image is. She is as greek as she is syrian, as syrian as she is lebanese, as arab as she is french, or american, as much a visual artist as she is a poet. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world. Who is the first winner of the etel adnan poetry prize. Etel adnan so i was telling you about what happened to me after i was invited to documenta as a painter. Etel adnans career spans several decades and encompasses a wide range of mediaincluding painting, drawing, tapestry, film, ceramics, and leporello artist booksas it does traditions and locations.
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