VINTAGE LEBANESE ARTISTS
AREF EL RAYESS
Aref El Rayess (Arabic: عارف الريس)
25 October 1928 – 27 January 2005
Born in Aley, Mount Lebanon, Aref el Rayess was an artist, painter and sculptor. He began to draw and paint at the age of eleven, initially using his mother’s paints and brushes and later learnt to draw with charcoal during vacations on visits to his cousin’s home in Choueifat, a suburb of Beirut.
In 1945 Rayess completed a charcoal and pastel drawing entitled Horror, depicting Hiroshima’s atomic bomb, an event that resonated deeply with the artist. The French painter Georges Cyr, architect Antoine Tabet and art critic Victor Hakim came to view the work at the advice of Arlette Levi, a reporter for L’Orient newspaper who had seen the work during a visit she paid to Rayess’s mother.
In the autumn of 1948, having been impressed by the young Rayess, Cyr, Tabet and Hakim held an exhibition for him in the West Hall of the American University of Beirut (AUB).
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, the first Director-General of UNESCO, and Peter Belew the chairman of UNESCO’s arts section, saw Rayess’s exhibition at the AUB and decided to take six paintings from the exhibition to hang them in the “Imaginary Roaming Exhibition”, held during the Second UNESCO International Conference in Beirut. The remaining thirty-six paintings were exhibited at the UNESCO Palace.
The artist moved to Paris in the spring of 1948, where (like his contemporary Saloua Raouda Choucair), he studied painting in the studios of Fernand Leger and Andre L’hote, etching with Friedlander and sculpture with Ossip Zadkine amongst others, while studying at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere.
Between 1954 and 1956, Rayess travelled in Senegal, West Africa, spending time exploring the jungles and living with local tribes. During this period he was deeply influenced by the cultural primitivism of the region. African stylization and motifs would become a notable feature of his work at this time, as well as for a large portion of his career. Returning to Paris in 1956, he spent his time attending exhibitions, mixing in artistic circles and concentrating primarily on the skill of etching. He returned to Lebanon between 1957 and 1958 and commenced studies on Phoenician, Assyrian, Sumarite and Pharaonic art.
In 1958, he was commissioned by the Lebanese government to design and execute a tapestry – The Signs of Cadmus – presented to the Unesco Palace in Paris. The Lebanese government also requested him to create two sculptures to represent Lebanon at the World Fair in New York.
He moved to Florence in 1959 after the Italian Government offered him a one-year scholarship. He then went on to live in Rome from 1960 to 1963, all the while maintaining studios in both cities. It was in Italy that his studies of ancient Semitic art forms manifested themselves in his work through the exploration of symbolism, leading to a large exhibition of works attributed to his “Sand Period”, an epoque comprising the early 1960s. He presented these works first at Galeria Pogliani in Rome, and then at La Licorne, Beirut, in November 1963, in an exhibition entitled “Temps et Murs”.
In 1963, Rayess returned to Beirut and won first prizes in sculpture and tapestry at the national contest of sculpture for the Palace of Justice. In 1969 he was elected chairman of Lebanese Association of Artists and Sculptors, a position he held until 1977. He also taught fine art at the Lebanese University. He counted a number of high profile and respected artists and figures from the art world amongst his friends, including Saloua Raouda Choucair, Michel Basbous and Chafic Abboud. His opinions were also sought and respected by people such as Joseph Abou-Rizk, the director of the Fine Arts department of the National Ministry of Education and he was instrumental in building the Lebanese arts and gallery scene, which was lacking in the 1960s.
With the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, Rayess was one of the artists who interpreted the tragic events in art. Staying in Algiers, he produced in 1976 a series of etchings entitled Tarik al Salam (The Road to Peace). This work gave its name to an exhibition Saleh Barakat curated in 2009 at the Beirut Art Center, encompassing Lebanese visual arts between 1975 and 1991.
In these troubled times, Rayess showed political involvement in creating a poster commemorating the assassination of the Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.
Aref El Rayess also developed a practice of abstract sculpture. In the 1980s, Rayess travelled regularly to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, spending time living in the country at the beginning of the decade after the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon. He was appointed as the Art Consultant for the city of Jeddah and was commissioned to produce a number of monumental public sculptures for the country, the most ambitious of which was a twenty-seven metre high aluminium sculpture of the stylized name of Allah that stands in Palestine Square in Jeddah. Among the artist’s later works was a series of oil paintings capturing the nature and feeling of the Arabian desert.
He travelled to London in 1990 and worked on a number of projects including private commissions around England. In 1999 he held an exhibition of introspective works, entitled “Labyrinths” – produced during the years he spent caring for his ill father, a time of loneliness and anxiety relieved only by the time he found to paint after his father would fall asleep.
Rayess spent his latter years working in his native Lebanon and organising the annual Symposia of Painting and Sculpture, the first of which was in 1999.
Rayess participated in many group shows including the biennales of Sao Paulo (1960) and Bagdad (1974); the Unesco exhibition in Montreal (1978); the Mall Galleries, London (1986) and the Salons of the Sursock Museum, Beirut (1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968). He has held more than fifteen one-man shows in Lebanon.
Internationally, his Individual exhibitions include: the Poliani Gallery, Rome (1959); Numero Gallery, Florence (1959); D’Arcy Gallery, New York; Excelsior Gallery, Mexico (1964); the Rodin Museum, Paris (1966); a retrospective of his works, 1957-1968, at the National Museum of Damascus (1969); Ornina Gallery, Damascus (1974), Gallery Rasim, Algeria (1976) and in Venezuela.
Aref El Rayess won several awards in Lebanon. These include: the Lebanese Ministry of National Education Award for the 1955 spring exhibition, the Unesco Prize for the Spring Salon of 1957, the Ministry of Public Works First and Second Prize for Sculpture (1963), the Sursock Museum Grand Prix de Sculpture (1965-66) for different works exhibited and their First Prize for Sculpture (1966-67) as well as the Ministry of Tourism First and Second Prizes (1966).
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The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - untitled - acrylic on panel - 120x100cm
Aref el rayess oil on panel 45x55cm 1959
The Way We Were - 1964 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on canvas - 100x100cm
The Way We Were - 1965 - Aref el Rayess - Abstract composition - oil on canvas
The Way We Were - 1964 - Aref el Rayess - Abstraction in red and brown
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - portrait of his fellow artist Jamil Molaeb - 50x32cm
The Way We Were - 1955 - Aref el Rayess - sketches
The Way We Were - 1959 - Aref el Rayess - oil on panel - 45x55cm
The Way We Were - 1960-1961 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil plaster and sand on panel - 60x86cm
The Way We Were - 1996 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - acrylic on panel - 125cmx125cm
The Way We Were - 2001 - Aref el Rayess - untitled
The Way We Were - 1961 - Aref el Rayess - reclining nude - oil on board - 50x131cm
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - sand peiod - mixed media on masonite - 60x80cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on board
The Way We Were - 1961 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on masonite
The Way We Were - 1961 - Aref el Rayess - untitled
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - 56x45cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on board - 70x70cm
The Way We Were - 1987 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on canvas - 66x80cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess -
The Way We Were - 1971 - Aref el Rayess - Blood and Freedom
The Way We Were - 1975 - Aref el Rayess - Casino - acrylic on wood - 116x177cm
The Way We Were - 1969 - Aref el Rayess - mixed media on masonite - 62x121cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - cubist composition (diptych) - oil on panel - 189x56cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - ink on paper - 48x45 cm
The Way We Were - 1996-1998 - Aref el Rayess - Labyrinths of the Millenium - oil on board - 120x120cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - untitled
The Way We Were - 1966 - Aref el Rayess - Cells and organisms - oil on canvas - 59x74cm
The Way We Were - 1961 - Aref el Rayess - Cityscape - oil on masonite - 50x130cm
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - Espace homme, machine dans la fantaisie orientale (man space, machine from orientale fantasies; from the human, time, machine series) - oil on canvas - 60x75cm
The Way We Were - 1964 - Aref el Rayess - Geometrical composition by - oil on board - 100cmx75cm
The Way We Were - 1966 - Aref el Rayess - H. t. m. (human, time and machine) - 150x150cm oil on canvas
The Way We Were - 1982 - Aref el Rayess - Jeddah (al shatek el hadi) (the calm shore) - 90x120cm
The Way We Were - 1997-2000 - Aref el Rayess - Labryinths of the Millenium -oil on board - 109x120cm
The Way We Were - 1959 - Aref el Rayess - Leba, the city with the moonlight - oil on board - 54x43cm
The Way We Were - 1979 - Aref el Rayess - Martha's belly - oil on canvas - 45x45cm
The Way We Were - 1964 - Aref el Rayess - "Naître c'est commencer à mourir" - oil and collage on canvas
The Way We Were - 1959 - Aref el Rayess - Portrait of Kamal Jumblatt - pencil on paper
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - untitled from Temps du Murs - mixed media on hardboard - 80x59cm
The Way We Were - 1960-61 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - mixed media on plywood - 62x71cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - Rose gothique (gothic rose from the time man machine series) - 122x60cm
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - Temps du Murs - mixed media with sand on canvas
The Way We Were - 1965 - Aref el Rayess - Totems on Blue - oil on board - 79x59cm
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil and sand on canvas - 80x100cm
The Way We Were - 1979 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on canvas 98x97cm
The Way We Were - 1961 - Aref el Rayess - untitled - oil on wood - 130x50cm
The Way We Were - 1957 - Aref el Rayess - untitled etching 35x28cm
The Way We Were - 1988 - Aref el Rayess - Leba (untitled) - oil on canvas 76x122cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - oil on wood - 50x130cm
The Way We Were - 1960s - Aref el Rayess - 60x60cm acrylic on board
The Way We Were - 1978 - political poster commemorating the assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, by the artist Aref el Rayess
The Way We Were - 1963 - Aref el Rayess - Temps du Murs - Time and Walls - pastel on paper - 77x108 cm
The Way We Were - 1958 - Artist Aref el Rayess was commissioned by the Lebanese government to design and execute a tapestry presented to the Unesco Centre in Paris. The title of the work, "The Signs of Cadmus" refers to an episode of Greek mythology having as its central character Cadmus, or Kadmos, a prince from Phoenicia (current-day Lebanon) who, according to the estimations of Herodotus, would have lived around 2000 B.C. A semi-mythical character, and legendary founder of the city of Thebes, he is also known for having introduced the Phoenician alphabet in Greece. The tapestry abstractly narrates the story of Cadmus and his adventures. The different elements of the composition – the half-horse, half-fish-like dragon, the choice of Phoenician characters, etc. – like signs, evoke various parts of the story.
The Way We Were - 1973 - Aref el Rayess - "Aref Rayess à la Galerie Contact, à partir du 28 février 1973: "Les Ouvrières du corps" dont l'exposition "Les fleurs de la rue Al-Moutanabbi - The flowers of rue Mutanabi"
The Way We Were - 1973 Aref el Rayess - "Aref Rayess à la Galerie Contact, à partir du 28 février 1973: "Les Ouvrières du corps" dont l'exposition "Les fleurs de la rue Al-Moutanabbi - The flowers of rue Mutanabi".
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures huddled together - الانقاذ ‘the rescue’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures in the form of a tree against landscape 1976 - في انتطار السلم - ‘waiting for peace’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures on the floor of a room -dated 9:12:1976 - في سلامة الكرسي - ‘in the safety of the chair’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures taking shelter behind wall, hands in background - dated 12:8:1976 - تل الزعتر - ‘tel al zaatar’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1977 - rubble with faces - dated 8:1:1977 - الطمس - 'destruction'
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - two figures embracing and a skeleton in interior scene - dated 25:7:1976 - طبيعة صامتة - ‘still life’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - wolf and figures in foreground with landscape in background- الذئب الحديدي - ‘iron wolf’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - wolf with soldiers in background - dated 1976 - عواء الذئب الحديدي - ‘howling iron wolf’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - battle - dated 5:2:1976 - الحمائم الصامتة - ‘silent doves’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - angel with gun and monster with figures in mouth, bricks with “paix” and “salam” written on them - dated 23:6:1976 - القتال الملاك - ‘angel of war’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - battle scene - dated 23:7:1976 - الدفاع العاجز - ‘defending the weak’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - battle scene - dated 10-15:7:1976 - في انتطار القرار - ‘waiting for the resolution’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - decapitated and hung figures in a battle scene - dated 30:4:1976 – 13:5:1976 - الشهود - ‘the witnesses’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - female face with ruined architecture in background - dated 20:11:1976 - النبعة - ‘naba’a’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figure and animal with battle scene in background - dated 10:8:1976 - المايسترو - ‘the maestro’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures holding wounded figures in foreground, large predatory bird with dove in its beak in background - dated 11:6:1976 - كابوس السلم - ‘nightmare of peace’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures imprisoned, boots and guns in background - dated 16 18:9:1976 - بس يم -
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures in a landscape - dated 14:11:1976 - الارض و الدم - ‘the earth and the blood’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures in rubble - dated 30:3:1976 - الانهيار - ‘the collapse’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures in urban scene - dated 1976 - فصل الختام - ‘the final chapter’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - guns and dissected figure in foreground, masked figures in background - dated 31:7:1976 - استهداف الذات - ‘self targeting’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - masked figures in a military scene - dated 12:4:1976 - الدامور ‘damour’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - masks and masked figures, hand with 1976 written on it - dated 17:7:1976 - الأقنعة - ‘masks’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1977 - masks over figures in a box -dated 8:1:1977 - التحجيم - ‘downsizing’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - woman against landscape - date illegible - النزوع - ‘the longing’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - women, children and elderly leaving a ruined city - dated 1976 - التهجير - ‘displacement’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures crushed in rubble -dated 24:5:1976 - الكرنتينا - ‘karantina’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - figures in a collapsed building, stone with writing ‘1976 :1948’ - dated 29:7:1976 - note in arabic ‘tel zaatar’ - التقسيم - ‘the border’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - war scene in the style of Picasso’s guernica - dated 13:5:1973 - في العالم الثالث - ‘in the third world’
The Way We Were - Aref el-Rayess - 1976 - male figure with dove on shoulder, figures in background - dated in arabic 7:7:1976- جنبلاط معبد طريق السلم - ‘jumblatt temple - "the road to peace"
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