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Dalloul Art Foundation
HUGUETTE CALAND HUGUETTE CALAND

HUGUETTE CALAND, Lebanon (1931 - 2019)

Bio

Huguette Caland is a Lebanese painter and designer born in Beirut in 1931. As the daughter of Bechara el-Khoury, the first president of the Lebanese Republic, she grew up feeling the pressure of...

Written by NATHALIE BSAT

Huguette Caland is a Lebanese painter and designer born in Beirut in 1931. As the daughter of Bechara el-Khoury, the first president of the Lebanese Republic, she grew up feeling the pressure of living in a politically and socially engaged family, and the difficulty of finding her own identity. However, the burdens that come with the constant exposure to the public inspired Caland's first sketches; she filled the walls of her room with drawings of faces mirroring her family house packed continuously with people. Her creative tendencies were soon formally supported, as sixteen-year-old Huguette began private drawing lessons with Fernando Manetti, an Italian painter living in Beirut.

Huguette married Paul Caland at the age of 20 and had three children. Following her mother's death in 1960, she found herself caring for her elderly father in addition to her children, and found family life stifling her chances at the career in the arts she so earnestly desired. After her father's death in 1964, she felt she could finally begin to invest more of her energy in art-making, and set up a studio in the garden at her family home in Kaslik. This first studio served as a space for self-discovery, auto-examination as a physical, sexual being, and for reflecting upon her relationships. A year later, the 33-year-old mother enrolled in the American University of Beirut to study Fine Arts, where she eagerly absorbed the styles, techniques, and philosophies she explored in her classes. It was as if a whole new world had opened wide for her.

Though her father's death left Caland with more time to devote to art, the constraints of marriage and motherhood continued to weigh on her. In 1970, following her first exhibition in Beirut, Caland made a bold change: she left her husband and children and moved to Paris. Experiencing a new city allowed a halt from the identities imposed on her as a politician's daughter, a wife, and a mother. In Paris, Huguette Caland led a genuinely bohemian life.

Out of Paris stay came a series of oil paintings she called Bribes de Corps, in which Caland filled canvases with parts of her own body, abstracted to seem almost landscape-like, in colorful –and suggestive – curves of flesh. In fact, throughout the 60s and 70s, human anatomy was her favorite playground, and her own body became a primary source of inspiration. The playful eroticism of her work was radical for its time and harmonized with contemporaneous feminist efforts to reclaim nude representation from its history as an object and expression of the male gaze. Furthermore, the strength of this work was accentuated by the fact that it focused on the artist’s own body. Huguette Caland was overweight and had been for as long as she could remember. Growing up in a society that prized thinness as a hallmark of beauty, she was made to feel ashamed of her appearance, expected to do everything in her power to change it; instead, she dared to do work that celebrated it. Not only Paris received Bibes de Corps with a shock, but Beirut, too: this work was very daring for any artist working in the 1970s.

In addition to celebrating her body on canvas, Caland was known for adorning it with imaginative fashions. In 1979, the artist walked into the shop of renowned fashion designer Pierre Cardin wearing a caftan, a garment type she had worn exclusively since her father's death. Cardin was so impressed by its originality that he asked Caland to collaborate on a line of caftans, which was released to great success.

In the late 1980s, Caland's lover, Romanian sculptor Georges Apostu, as well as her dear friend Mustafa both died of heart attacks, prompting the artist's second big move. This time, Huguette took off to the United States, where she set up a home and a studio in Venice, California. Much like her childhood home, this Los Angeles-area studio was open to any friends and visitors, and Caland often hosted prominent American artists such as Chris Burden and James Hayward. The artist remained in California until 2013 when she returned to Beirut to say goodbye to her dying husband.

Caland's recent work often makes use of mixed media, as is seen in her Rossinante Under Cover series (2011). This series uses oils and ink to evoke the craftsmanship and feel of a carpet, quilt, or tapestry, making use of lines that resemble stitching and patchwork. Though they call textiles to mind above all, they are not devoid of human presence – some seem to hint at the trace of bodies underneath – and their content bears some relation to the artist's personal life. Though abstract, these mixed media works can also be seen to reflect on Caland's life experiences, as in Maison de Freige (2010), which is reminiscent of her teenage self. Here we see the diary of a girl entering womanhood, rejecting expectations of what she should be, reflecting on what mattered to her and what was forbidden. Furthermore, Caland's parents had an extensive collection of rugs, which may have inspired her, but she avowedly disliked the act of sewing. Here, she uses a medium that brings her joy to evoke the playful result of cross-stitching, an act that made the artist feel close to women weavers. These textile-inspired works were created freehand, with Caland incorporating different patterns into a spontaneous, lighthearted composition.

Throughout her career, Huguette Caland's work has been a celebration of life, sexuality, and sensuality, with the artist's good humor coming through her signature bright color palette and playful, jocular linework. From her luminous oil paintings to her busy, textural mixed-media works to her minimalist, almost cartoonish black-and-white drawings, Caland has created a world in which the human experience is exalted in all its imperfections.

The artist passed away in Beirut, on the 23rd of September 2019, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was 88 years old.

Sources

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CV

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2021

Bronzes, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, LA, USA

2020

Glimpse into the Past, Tanit Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Huguette Caland : Faces and Places, Mathaf:Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Huguette Caland: Tête-à-Tête, The Drawing Center, New York, USA

2019

Huguette Caland, Tate Saint Ives, UK

2018

Exhibition 2: Huguette Caland, Institute of Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA), New York, USA
Huguette Caland 1964, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon

2016

Silent Letters, Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, New Yor, USA    

2015 

Bronzes, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon

2014

Early Works: 1970-85 by Huguette Caland, Lombard Freid Gallery, New York, USA

2012 -2013

Huguette Caland: 1964 – 2012, Beirut Exhibition Center, Lebanon

2011

Undercover, Peter Findlay Gallery, New York, USA
Mes Jeunes Années, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon

2010

Caché, Caché, Venice, Italy

2009

Silent Memories, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Autumn, LA Contemporary, Los Angeles, USA
Silent Memories, Peter Findlay Gallery, New York, USA

2006

Rossinantes, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Rossinantes, Samy Kinge Gallery, Paris, France

2005

Michael’s, Santa Monica, California, USA

2004

Recent Work, Saint Germain Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA

2003

Introspective, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2001

Silent Letters, Sami Kinge Gallery, Paris, France

2000

L’argent, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

1999

Silent Letters and Touchables, Off Main Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, California, USA

1998

Scapes & Escapes, Elena Zass Gallery, Laguna Beach, California, USA

1997

Faces and Places II, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Faces and Places I, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

1992

Gallery 5, Santa Monica, California, USA
Toepel Gallery, Kirkland, Washington, USA
Bella Interiors Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA

1986

Rajz/Drawing ’86, Pesci Galeria, Pesc, Hungary

1985

A Thousand and One Nights, Cultural Center of Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

1984

Lebanese Artists, Monaco Art Center, Monte-Carlo

1980

Faris Gallery, Paris, France

1973

Contact Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

1972

Delta Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

1972

Dar El Fan, Beirut, Lebanon

Selected Group Exhibitions

2020

Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950-1980s, Grey Art Gallery, New York University; Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Illinois; Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, New York; McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College; University of Michigan Museum of Art; USA
Glimpse into the Past, Tanit Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Painting, Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

2019

Surrogates, Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

2018

Féminités plurielles, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon 
A Century in Flux, Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Inauguration of Barjeel Collection wing at Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE
The Fabric of Felicity, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Polarities, TOTAH, New York, USA
Summer Nocturne: Works on Paper from the 1970s, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA), USA

2017

Huguette Caland, Various works, 1971 – 1995,  Arsenale, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Lines of subjectivity: portrait and landscape paintings, works from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s permanent collection, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
Beloved Bodies, Barjeel Art Foundation at the Maraya Art Center, Sharjah, UAE
Modern Art From the Middle East, Barjeel Art Foundation at the Yale University Gallery, New Haven, United States of America

2016

The Sea Suspended: Arab Modernism from the Barjeel Collection, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran
Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA

2015

Metropolis, Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art, New York

2014

Prospect.3 Biennale, New Orleans, USA

2013

Tajreed, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait

2012

Le corps découvert, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
La création libanaise, 1959-2012, Espace Clause Lemand, Paris, France
California Art: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, California, USA

2011

Forces of Nature: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, USA
California Art: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, USA
Elements of Nature: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Brevard Art Museum, Melbourne, Florida, USA
Rebirth, Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Looking Back, V-Scape Venice, CA
Fullerton College Art Gallery, Fullerton, CA
Galleria Ipazia, Italy

2010

Convergence, New Art From Lebanon, APEAL at the American University, Washington DC, USA
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA
From Elsewhere to Here: Here is Elsewhere, Pacific Design Center, Weissman Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
Elements of Nature: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

2009

Artists from Lebanon, Lucy Topalian Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait

2006

L.A. Art Scene: Selected Works by Local Artists from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Beverly Hills Municipal Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, USA

2005

The Inauguration of the National Public Library, Beirut, Lebanon
 Gallery St. Germain, Beverly Hills, California, USA

2004

Free Style, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, USA

2001

St’ Art, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Foire D’Art Contemporain de Strasbourg, Paris
Salon International d’art Contemporain-Artuel Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon

1999

Eurppe’Art, Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Foire Internationale D’Art

1998

Special Janvier 1998, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon

1997

Special Janvier , Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon
Europ’Art 97, Geneve, Switzerland

1996

Blessings and Beginnings: Our Pathway to this Moment, Skirball Cultural Center and Museum, Los Angeles, USA
L.A. Current: The Female Perspective, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, Los Angeles, USA

1995

Art Preview , Artopia Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

1994

Summer symposium of Asilah in July-August, Asilah, Morocco

1993

Forces of Changes, Artists of the Arab World, National Museum of Women in Arts, Washington D.C., USA

1986

The Arab World Today, Organized by the Permanent Delegation of the Arab States to UNESCO, Paris, France
Le Portrait A Roulettes, (with George Apostu), Sales, France
Espace Culturel Inaugural Exhibit, Permanent Delegation of the Arab States to UNESCO, Paris, France
Rajz/Drawing ’86,  Pesci Galeria, Pesc, Hungary

1985

A thousand and one nights, Cultural Center of Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

1984

Femina: In memory of Alicia Penalba, UNESCO, Paris, France
Drawings for George Astalos, Painters and Poets in Sologne, Aubigny-sur-Nère (Cher), France.
Lebanese artists, Monaco Art Center, Monte Carlo, Principality of Monaco
Painters and poets in Sologne: Drawings for Salah Stetie, Alain
Bosquet, Andree Chedid, Aubigny Sur-Nere (Cher), France

1980

Faris Gallery, Paris, France

1979

Painters and poets in Sologne: Drawings for Alain Bosquet, Aubigny-sur-Nère (Cher), France

1972

L’estampe Contemporaine, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France

1970

Contemporary Lebanese Artists, Museum of Modem Art, Tokyo
Grafica D’Oggi: 36th International Biennial of Venice, Venice, Italy
Sixteen Lebanese Painters, Delta Gallery, Rome, Italy
Lebanese Artists, Traveling exhibition in the US, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA
Helen Khal and Huguette Caland, Atelier Caland, Kaslik, Lebanon,

Illustrations and Publications

1986

Huguette Caland by Raoul Jean Moulin, illustrated with color reproductions of paintings, drawings and sculptures, Edition SMI, Paris

1982

Five drawings for the magazine “Neighborhood”, New York (August)

1972

Ink drawing for the frontispiece of “Sade, système de l’agression”, by Noelle Chatelet, Editions Aubier-Montaigne, Paris   

Fashion Designs

1979

Nour, a Haute Couture fashion line created for and commissioned by Pierre Cardin, Espace Cardin, Paris.


1964-75

Created seven hand-women silk gowns in Beirut, embroidered and hand-painted in anthropomorphic and geometric images, presented on hand-made mannequins of Scheherazade within the environment of a group of paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Media/Screenplays

1979

Conceived the story idea and acted in Hubert Glotte, a short film realized by Maryse Ebely.

1978-79

Sysphia, screenplay written in collaboration with Maryse Ebely.

Collections

LACMA, Los Angeles, USA
Armand Hammer Museum, USA
The British Museum, London, UK
San Diego Museum of Art, USA
Palm Springs Museum of Art, USA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
Aldis Brown Fine Art, la Jolla, California, USA
Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Fondation Nationale d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Barjeel Art foundation, Sharjah, UAE
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Saradar Collection, Beirut, Lebanon

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Documents
Forces of Change:Women Artists in The Arab World
Lafayette, Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, English, 1994
Huguette Caland:Everything Takes the Shape of a Person,1970-78
Aram Moshayedi
Skira Editore, English, 2017

Monograph

Untitled
Huguette Caland
English, 2016
Huguette Caland
Aldis Browne
Published in the Monograph/Catalog of Beirut Exhibition Center Huguette Caland works 1964 - 2012 Retrospective 2013, English, 2010
Voyage
Brigitte Caland
Published in the Monograph/Catalog of Beirut Exhibition Center Huguette Caland works 1964 - 2012 Retrospective 2013, French, 2012
Huguette, Ou L'Art De Se Construire
Nadine M. Begdache
Published in the Monograph/Catalog of Beirut Exhibition Center Huguette Caland works 1964 - 2012 Retrospective 2013, French, 2012
Untitled
Huguette Caland
French, 2002
Huguette Caland
John Carswell
Published in the Monograph/Catalog of Beirut Exhibition Center Huguette Caland works 1964 - 2012 Retrospective 2013, English, 2000
Geographie Du Corps Memrable
Raoul Jean Moulin
Published in the Monograph/Catalog of Beirut Exhibition Center Huguette Caland works 1964 - 2012 Retrospective 2013, 1980
Huguette Caland
Helen Khal
Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, English, 1987
Reflexion Plastique.pdf
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Press
REWIND: HUGUETTE CALAND AS TOLD BY BRIGITTE CALAND
artdubai, English, 2017
Huguette Caland
Artforum, English, 2019
Regrets Too Few to Mention: Pat McDonnell Twair Visits Huguette Caland ( The Middle East Magazine)
Pat McDonell Twair
Questia, English, 2006
مزاد غاليري أيام للأعمال الفنيّة في بيروت
Aljarida, Arabic, 2011
مزاد فنون الشرق الأوسط في دبي ... أعمال بقيمة متحفيَّة
Aljarida, Arabic, 2011
Huguette Caland: A Life Coming Into Focus
Omar Kholeif
Art Papers, English, 2018
Huguette Caland's Nirvana
Rene De Loffre
De Loffre, English, 2011
الجامعة الأميركية منحتها وسام الشرف هوغيت كالان تشرّف الجائزة وتتشرّف بها الجائزة
محمد شرف
Annahar, Arabic, 2017
Arab Spring: Modern Middle Eastern Art Finds a New Audience in the West
Andrew Russeth
Artnews, English, 2015
HUGUETTE CALAND BRINGS ART TO HER GARDEN
Betsy Goldman
Argonaut News, English, 2008
This Week’s Six Pillars Show – Huguette Caland
Sixpillars, English
Lebanese artist Huguette Caland’s provocations – artist profile
Elisa Pierandrei
Art Radar, English, 2018
Huguette Caland , Gelims of Northern Iran
Jill Magi
Jill Magi Blog, English, 2014
Meet The Octogenarian Artist Who’s Been Creating Erotic Art For 50 Years
Priscilla Frank
Huffpost, English, 2016
Huguette Caland, la dame en abaya blanche
Fadi Moussalli
L'Orient le Jour, French, 2020
L’ultime cavalcade d’Huguette Caland, amazone intrépide de la peinture libanaise
Edgar Davidian
L'Orient le Jour, French, 2019
La peintre libanaise Huguette Caland n'est plus
OLJ
L'Orient le Jour, French, 2019
رحيل التشكيلية اللبنانية هوغيت الخوري
al-bayan, Arabic, 2019
رحيل الفنانة التشكيلية اللبنانية هوغيت الخوري كالان: "الفتاة التي لا تكبر"
Annahar, Arabic, 2019
هوغيت كالان "الفنانة اللعوب" بروحها الطفولية المدهشة
محمد شرف
Annahar, Arabic, 2019
وفاة الفنانة التشكيلية اللبنانية هوغيت الخوري كالان
Al-Hurra, Arabic, 2019
Huguette Caland, 88, Dies; Celebrated Freedom in Art and Life
Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times, English, 2019
Huguette Caland, a Lebanese artist whose paintings celebrated the body, has died at 88.
Wallace Ludel
Artsy, English, 2019
طبعت تاريخ الفن التشكيلي في لبنان والعالم: هوغيت كالان... طارت إلى حريتها المطلقة
نيكول يونس
al-akhbar, Arabic, 2019
Huguette Caland—leading artist of the Arab world—has died, aged 88
Aimee Dawson
The Art Newspaper, English, 2019
‘Liberated, Rebellious and Historically Consequentialʼ: Remembering Huguette Caland (1931–2019)
Kaelen Wilson Goldie
Frieze, English, 2019
Huguette Caland, Artist Who Envisioned Female Bodies in Liberated Spaces, Is Dead at 88
Alex Greenberger
Art News, English, 2019
Huguette Caland
Beirut Exhibition Center, English, 2013
Hugette Caland Retrospective at the Beirut Exhibition Center
Nermine Hammam
Art of the Mideast, English, 2013
Early Works: 1970-85 by Huguette Caland opens at Lombard Freid
Artdaily, English, 2014
Huguette Caland, "Early Works: 1970–85"
Time Out, English, 2014
Huguette Caland
Scott Robins
Frieze, English, 2014
Huguette Caland’s Mediterranean dream
Shirine Saad
The National, English, 2014
HUGUETTE CALAND
Austin Considine
Artnews, English, 2015
The Colorful Past of Huguette Caland
Hrag Vartanian
Hyperallergic, English, 2014
Radical 1970s, Erotic Artworks From Lebanese Artist Huguette Caland
Priscilla Frank
Hufington post, English, 2014
Art Dubai Modern: Historical Fragments
Hrag Vartanian
Hyperallergic, English, 2014
This Week’s Six Pillars Show – Huguette Caland
Six Pillars, English, 2014
Lebanese women artists’ modern approach to art
India Stoughton
The National News, English, 2016
Modern women: 13 Lebanese female artists in “LEBANON MODERN!” at the Beirut Art Fair 2016
Art Radar, English, 2016
اعتراف شرعي
Laure Ghorayeb
Annahar, English, 2016
57th Venice Biennale: The Arsenal
Dan Fox
Frieze, English, 2017
GROUP SHOW A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
Galerie Tanit, English, 2020
La Galerie Tanit s'ouvre au passé
M.R.
Le Commerce du Levant, French, 2020
Reprendrons-nous illico le chemin des expositions ?
Zena Zalzal
L'Orient le Jour, French, 2020
اوغيت الخوري كالاند
Claude Saba
Al-Anwar Newspaper, Arabic, 2003
A Gallery Of A Lifetime, HuguetteCaland’s most vivid creation, Her Home, Traces her flight from Lebanon
Anne Marie-O’Connor
Orlando Sentinel, English, 2003
العودة إلى الذات أعمال متعددة الألوان والإتجاهات
Samir Rabah
Al-Watan, Arabic, 2003
الفنانة الشيخة لا تزال تحوك أحلاماً فتية
Laure Ghorayeb
Annahar, Arabic, 2009
ذكريات هوغيت كالان الصامتة في غالري جنين ربيز
Kawsar Hanbouri
Al Ousbouh Al-Arabi, Arabic, 2009
اخترت اللاسياسة
Antoine Jouki
Al Mustaqbal - Interview in Paris, Arabic, 2001
بالفرشاة طرزت الواني ومن الكون استعرت سحر الحياكة
Zeinab Hammoud
Al-Anwar Newspaper, Arabic, 2006
Byzantine in Venice: A Visit with Huguette Caland
Joanne Warfield
The Scream Online Internet Magazine, English, 2003
ذكريات عشوائية من أطراف العالم الداخلي
Laure Ghorayeb
Annahar, Arabic, 1997
Regrets Too Few to Mention
Pat McDonnell Twair
The Middle East, English, 2006
Huguette Caland a la Galerie Janine Rubeiz
Nicole Malhame Harfouche
La Revue Du Liban, French, 2009
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