Written by NOUR HELOU

Multi-talented artist David Kurani was born in 1944 to an American mother and a Lebanese father. Though he was born in Virginia, Kurani moved to Beirut as a very young child and grew up in the Lebanese capital, earning his designation as a Lebanese artist.

Kurani’s interest in art started at quite an early age and never left him. As a teenager, he attended Art Seminars for Children held by Maryette Charlton at the American University of Beirut; these classes were the artist’s first encounter with AUB, an institution with which he would become intimately acquainted. His uncle encouraged his interest in drawing by teaching him the basics of perspective, and the young artist benefitted from exposure to European paintings through art books. He recalls being particularly captivated by books on the Old Masters, having been fascinated with the way Rembrandt utilized light in his images. 

In 1962 Kurani pursued an undergraduate degree at AUB. He graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with concentrations in English Literature and Education. Here, he took classes with artists with whom he would later teach, such as Arthur Frick and John Carswell, among others. In his time as a student, he won several prizes in art competitions and group shows, notably the First Prize in Drawing in a 1965 competition between Beirut’s three major universities: AUB, ALBA (Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts), and LAU (Lebanese American University). Upon the completion of his undergraduate degree, Kurani left to England where he received professional training in Theater Arts with concentrations in Stage Design and Costuming from the Bristol Old Vic Theater School in association with the Bristol University in England. Out of a personal interest in studio arts and graphics, Kurani frequently visited the Royal West of England Academy, as well as various museums and cultural centers in England, the United States of America, and Lebanon.

In 1968, Kurani re-entered AUB; this time, however, he came in as a teacher. He eventually became the head of the Fine Arts Department, a position he held until the department’s dissolution in 1977 during the Civil War. Even during this tumultuous period in Lebanese history, which stretched from 1975 to 1990, Kurani insisted on the importance of the arts in Lebanon and fought for their perpetuation. After the war ended, he was assigned the task of re-establishing the AUB Art Department, which took three years to complete. In 2006, he was named its chair.  

Kurani is a prolific artist across multiple media. Besides painting portraits and watercolor landscapes, he has directed or written over 50 theatrical plays, including Marilou Meets the Dragon, published in 1969. He has also designed the sets for over thirty-six stages and has illustrated Arabic children’s books for Dar Al Mashrek Publishers, in addition, he worked in poster graphics, cartoons, and music composition. However, Kurani's preferred artforms remain painting and theatre. 

In harmony with the beliefs of his teacher, Arthur Frick, Kurani’s paintings demonstrate a commitment to the representation of nature. His watercolors always show a precise composition and communicate the artist’s eye for detail. The artist uses different strategies to evoke a sense of movement in his pictures; in some, the linear curve of his brushstrokes animates a single tree, while in others his slight manipulation of perspective creates an effect similar to a fish-eye lens. Often, the focal point of the painting is not immediately apparent, causing the viewer’s eye to roam around the composition in works such as the Jacaranda Trees (2014). He makes use of watercolor for natural scenes, either painted on the spot, en plein air or from a photograph; he believes that the watercolor invites the most light into the canvas and compliments nature best. Kurani’s color palette is a Mediterranean one, replete with the warm tones of olive groves and the rich blue-greens of the sea. Though his landscapes are represented realistically, their mimesis is countered by certain whimsical, mystical undertones: his subtle shifts in perspective, as well as his impressionistic brush strokes and his varying shades of light, disturb the stillness and flatness of the whole. Kurani’s paintings are notable for his use of perspective. When he paints from a picture, he makes it so that the artwork communicates the focus that a camera lens can only provide, as in Cactus Image (2014).

Although the artist has experimented with nonrepresentational abstraction and has worked in the media of oil painting and ink, the majority of his works are watercolors of Lebanese scenery. In these works, Kurani demonstrates an attachment to the “authentic” or “traditional” aspects of the Lebanese landscape, as in Ain Mreisse Cove (2013), a watercolor landscape with old stone houses on the bay of Ain Mreisse. In reality, this strip of land mainly occupied by recent modernist constructions, yet the artist has intentionally left the picture incomplete, selectively representing the area to reflect only the most picturesque view. In his portraits, as the artist has mentioned, Kurani prefers to catch the spontaneous expressions of people rather than ask them to pose for him. He depicts people realistically, sometimes using impressionistic methods, in attempts to create truthful images that capture the “essence” of the person portrayed. 

Kurani’s faith and spirituality guide most of his works: he has accompanied some of his watercolor landscapes, such as those depicting the Cedars of Lebanon and the Ain Mreisse Cove, with biblical readings or theological anecdotes. Kurani has said that, for him, the appeal of watercolor lies in its luminosity and in the feeling of mystery it can convey, which enables him to depict “supernatural light.” Painting nature in such a manner is Kurani’s way of celebrating the creation of the God in which he so ardently believes.

David Kurani has been an advocate of the art scene in Lebanon all of his life. In his capacity as an educator, he strongly encourages students and members of the AUB community to develop their interest in visual arts by attending exhibitions at local galleries and supporting local artists in any way possible. He currently teaches Fine Arts and Theatre at AUB and lives in Beirut with his wife and three sons. 

Sources

Abou Melhem, Sally. “Exhibition celebrates David Kurani’s artwork and his 50 years of service.” American University of Beirut.May 2018. Accessed July 24^th2019 https://www.aub.edu.lb/articles/Pages/david-kurani.aspx. 

“AUB to showcase artworks of its alumni in first AUB Alumni Art Expo.” February 2013. Accessed on July 24^th2019 http://aub.edu/communications/media/Documents/feb-13/alumni-art-expo-MA-EN.pdf.

“Beirut: A World of Art - More From The Artists.” Maingate Magazine – American University of Beirut Quarterly Magazine. Fall 2008, Vol. VII, No. 1. Accessed July 24^th, 2019 https://staff.aub.edu.lb/~webmgate/fall2008/online1.htm. 

“Class of 1962 Reunion: David Kurani.” American Community School, Beirut, Lebanon. Accessed July 24^th2019 http://acs1962.com/1962/david-kurani. 

Gordon, Katharine and Lama El Khatib. “David Kurani: Reality, Composed.” American University of Beirut. 2018. Accessed July 24^th2019 https://www.aub.edu.lb/Events/Pages/Details.aspx?ItemId=271. 

Kayyali, Adnan. “Character of the Week: David Kurani.” Outlook AUB. October 2016. Accessed July 24^th2019.  

Khoury, Gilles. “David Kurani : J’aime que mes élèves connaissent mes secrets d’artiste !” L’Orient Le Jour, Culture. April 2018. Accessed July 24^th2019 https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1108835/david-kurani-jaime-que-mes-eleves-connaissent-mes-secrets-dartiste-.html. 

Kurani, David. “Scenes from Lebanon – A New Art Series by David Kurani.” Living Bulwark – sources of strength and renewal for Christian life and mission. October-November 2014, Vol. 69. Accessed July 24^th, 2019  https://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/october2014p19.htm. 

Kurani, David. “Scenes from the Bible – A New Art Series by David Kurani.” Living Bulwark – sources of strength and renewal for Christian life and mission. August-September 2013, Vol. 69. Accessed July 24^th, 2019 

https://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/august2013p17.htm. 

Libanista. “Artist David Kurani at AUB.” Agenda Culturel. January 2015. Accessed July 24^th, 2019 http://www.agendaculturel.com/From_a_foreign_perspective_Libanista_Artist_David_Kurani_at_AUB. 

“News from the Department of Fine Arts & Art History at the American University of Beirut.” September 2015. Accessed July 24^th, 2019 https://faahaub.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/upcoming-events-prof-david-kurani-exhibiting-in-paris-brussels/.

Salamé Abillama, Nour and Marie Tomb. Art From Lebanon – Modern and contemporary artists 1880-1975, Volume I. Beirut: Wonderful Editions, 2012.