At 92 years, Etel Adnan cannot be defined bya single attribute. Her life’s work has spannedart, literature, poetry, and philosophy. Born inBeirut in 1925 to a Greek mother and Syrianfather, Adnan found herself at the intersectionsof different cultures, nationalities, andreligions. Writing across languages andcontinents, she has long been a singular voicein the cultural discourses of the Middle East.Adnan’s prose and poetry are both controversialand cherished, yet it was painting that broughther to the world’s attention. She first becamededicated to painting in the early 1960swith abstract works and later moved on tolandscapes, simplifying the image to its pureststate of shapes and contrasting palettes.Through her manifold paintings, tapestries,and drawings, the evolution of Adnan’s workis made evident here. The presentationjuxtaposes new works alongside earlypaintings, emphasizing her ability toreconsider and reinvent the subject matter,colors, and forms as well as her interestin different media. It also gives us uniqueinsight into her artistic and literary expressionrepresenting her rich cultural, political, andgeographical background.
