IRENE GHANEM
Born in Beiru in 1970, Irene Kahale developed an appetite for life from a very young age, which she decided to put on canvas. Amidst the darkness surrounding her, she juggled colors and composition and is best known for her abstract expressionism. Irene’s work depicts the amalgam of emotions experienced throughout her journey, going from the civil war to the worldwide trips she’s undertaken. Her style displays the influence of a variety of western painters such as Henri Matisse, Helen Frankenthaler, Willem de Kooning, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Joan Mitchell and more, as well as Lebanese artists such as Chafic Abboud and her own professors, Yvette Achkar and Halim Jurdak.She decided to study Fine Arts at L’Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). In 1992, she moved to France where she joined the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and l’association Artistique de Marly le Roi.In 1995, Irene moved to Los Angeles, California, an awakening trip that would expose her to the American culture and the inspiring art of Willem de Kooning. After several enriching voyages, Irene returned to her home country Lebanon in1997, with a head bursting with ideas and inspirations. She opened her own Atelier Irene Ghanem in 2014.
KEY EXHIBITIONS
June 2021, Artists of Beirut Collective Pop up Show Season Two, “Women of Beirut: Untold stories”, Bossa Nova Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon
2019, the Beirut Art Fair.2019, exhibition at Musée Paul Guiragossian
2017 ALBA Exhibition.2015 , German Cultural Center in Lebanon
SELECTED ARTWORKS
‘Unheard Story’, Acrylic on canvasDiptyque, 50 x 100 cm, 2021
