This Too Shall Pass
This Too Shall Pass
Lot Closed
June 25, 12:35 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
MOHAMMED-SAID BAALBAKI
b. 1974
HEAP
signed and dated Berlin 2011-12 on the reverse
oil on canvas
200 by 200cm.; 78¾ by 78¾in.
Cuadro Gallery, Dubai
Private Collection, Dubai (acquired directly from the above)
Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai
Mohamad Said Baalbaki first studied painting at the Institut des Beaux-Arts, Beirut (1998), followed by the Marwan Summer Academy at the Darat al Funun in Amman (2001). He then studied painting at the University of the Arts, Berlin (Universität der Künste Berlin), attending the masterclasses of Burkhard Held (2005). He graduated with a Masters of Arts from the Institute for Art in Context, University of the Arts, Berlin (2008).
Baalbaki was initially known for painted works that drew on his experiences as a child during the Lebanese Civil War and Israeli occupation. Baalbaki and his family were often uprooted and forced to move between different districts in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon during the war. Baalbaki’s paintings, often devoid of people, portray piles of items such as suitcases, shoes, clothing and other belongings, symbolising lost, unrecorded and forgotten stories of history. A conceptual shift in Baalbaki’s work occurred in 2006 when he began to examine the role of museums and institutions in guiding dominant perceptions of history.
Baalbaki’s work has been exhibited across the Middle East, Europe, Canada and the United States.
Solo exhibitions include, Baal: Sense of an Ending, Rose Issa Projects, London (2011); Le chantier (“The Site”), Goethe Institute, Beirut (2002); and Les confessions (“Confessions”), Galerie Zamman, Beirut (2000).
A selection of group exhibitions includes, Arabicity/Ourouba, the Middle East Institute (MEI), Washington DC, USA (2019); Ourouba: The Eye of Lebanon, Beirut Art Fair, Lebanon (2017); Tea with Nefertiti, Mathaf, Doha (2012-13) and Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2013); Art is the answer! Contemporary Lebanese artists and designers, Villa Empain, Brussels (2012); Red Dot, Wilde Gallery, New York (2008); Darat al Funun, Amman (2000) and 23ème Salon d’Automne, Nicolas Sursock Museum, Beirut (2000).
Baalbaki won a stipendium from the Graduate School for the Arts and Sciences (2008) and the President’s Master Student Prize (2005), both from the Institute for Art in Context, Berlin (2008); and an “Artist in Residence” award from Solidere, Beirut (2006).
Baalbaki currently lives and works in Berlin.