People’s Gallery in Damascus hosts an exhibition for16 Lebanese plastic artists

16 Lebanese female plastic artists crossed borders with their paintings, which were displayed for three days in the People’s Gallery in Damascus.

The exhibition included the presentation of 46 works of various sizes, techniques and styles that varied between classicism, impressionism and abstraction.

In a statement to SANA, head of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union, Irfan Abu al-Shamat, said that the exhibition underlined the importance of cooperation and communication in various artistic fields, not only in the field of plastic art, noting that it opened the door for communication with the Plastic Arts Syndicate in Lebanon in the field of exchanging experiences between the two brotherly countries.

The idea of the exhibition, according to its coordinator, the plastic artist Lina Rizk, came after the participation of Lebanese artists in an exhibition in Khan Asaad Pasha last year and their desire to have a special exhibition for them in Syria. She noted that the name “Sit al-Dunya” was chosen to carry the idea of the arrival of female artists from all Lebanese regions to plant cedar tree saplings  among the jasmines in Syria.

The plastic artist Ons Ghandour, the exhibition coordinator, also indicated that its aim is to shed light on the Lebanese plastic movement in the difficult situation that Lebanon is going through. She stressed that the participating artists represent the Lebanese fabric to be a miniature piece of Beirut in Damascus and to bring their culture to the world.

The artist, Nisreen Wazir, expressed her happiness at coming with artists from her country to display their paintings in their different styles in Syria, and to convey their message with which they crossed the borders to Damascus, hoping that the works would be at a level befitting the Syrian audience.

The two artists, Abeer Selim and Rima Assi, who are in charge of media at the Lebanese Plastic Artists Syndicate, also expressed their hope for more cultural cooperation between Syria and Lebanon, and for many exhibitions to be held between the two brotherly countries.

The artist, Maha Abu Chakra, who works in the exhibitions department of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and in the Artists Association and the Artists Syndicate, searches for the joy that exists within her and within any person, especially after the difficult period the country went through. Her message of participation is to reach the goal no matter what the difficulties were, expressing her happiness at coming to Syria again, and at the warm welcome of the Syrian people to them.

Artist, Amal Kamhz, who holds a master’s degree in arts from the Lebanese University, used transparent cloth and resin in her works, noting that their presence in Syria is an expression of their hope for her return as it was a beacon of arts and culture.

Inas Abdulkareem