Don’t miss our next event! The next French Culture Nights will be held on February 22 and promises you an enjoyable atmosphere featuring new talented artists. Let’s discover Celine Khawam, a rising visual artist.
Celine received her MFA in visual arts from La Sorbonne in Paris along with her master’s in textile design and exhibited in several galleries and group shows in Europe. She currently lives and works as a designer in New York City where she creates home textile collections for Ralph Lauren.
In her interdisciplinary practice, Celine explores the daily panorama of her life and experience in Lebanon. Her artwork embraces a contemplative approach that subtly interacts with moral and social observations. Her pieces portray conflicting perceptions to draw the viewer in on both emotive and intellectual levels. Celine brings to attention simple elements such as walls, furniture and domestic objects focusing on their form to poetically reflect a society struggling with the past and identity.
Q: Why and when did you start photography?
A: Visual arts have always been one of my major interests since childhood. During my last years at Les Beaux-Arts of Beirut I developed a strong preference for still images. I discovered through photography the narrative, nostalgic and intellectual potential of images and a powerful way to communicate thoughts. I mainly use photography to describe the personal, collective and lost memories and identity of Lebanon, my home.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration?
A: I find inspiration in the everyday life and the way it interacts with people, objects and culture. I look for textures and forms and consider the slightest detail of my environment. My work is mostly based on close-up images.
Q: What is your favorite place in New York?
A: The diversity of New York is unique and contradictory. This creates a fascinating range of different worlds within the city. I am in constant exploration of new places to favor.
Q: Do you think New York can still be considered the place-to-be for young artists?
A: New York is a relatively young city that is reputed for its openness to difference, initiative, experiments and novelty. New generations of galleries keep popping up in the city expanding the art scene and offering opportunities for emerging artists.
Q: Do you take pictures of New York? What are your favorite subjects?
A: New York carries numerous universes that I like to investigate through the ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the boroughs. I photograph structures, abandoned places, textures, graffiti and faces.
In the featured image (Missing Pieces), the random placement and combination of the damaged objects create natural sculptures and interact with each other generating layers of interpretation. These conversation pieces subtly communicate notions of transformation and mutation that are paralleled with the idea of identity fragmentation.
The images on the left (Wall Dialogues) were shot in the streets of Beirut. After over fifteen years of civil war, Lebanon is starting anew with the will to live normally. The walls are talkative and reflect the presence of the past. These images poetically hold multiple tensions in balance: between light and shadow, color saturation and dustiness, abstraction and figuration, hope and death.
