Galerie Claude Lemand

KEVORK MOURAD, IMMORTAL CITY.

The Rose Art Museum pre­sents Immortal City, an exhi­bi­tion of new pain­tings by acclai­med Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad (b. Syria, 1970), an artist known for his per­for­ma­tive col­la­bo­ra­tions with com­po­sers, dan­cers, and musi­cians. The exhi­bi­tion fea­tu­res work crea­ted in res­ponse to the war in Syria and the des­truc­tion of the artist’s belo­ved city of Aleppo.

Kevork Mourad per­forms in his art both a vital act of remem­be­ring and a defiant demons­tra­tion of crea­ti­vity in the face of tra­gedy, media­ting the expe­rience of trauma through finely wrought, abs­trac­ted ima­gery that cele­bra­tes his rich cultu­ral heri­tage while mour­ning its loss. Mourad’s pain­tings ask vie­wers to stop and bear wit­ness, to see the frag­ments of a rich culture des­troyed - tex­ti­les, ancient frac­tu­red walls, Arabic cal­li­gra­phy, and bodies cru­shed by war.

Working almost solely in black paint and incor­po­ra­ting print­ma­king tech­ni­ques as well as his own unique method of applying paint through swee­ping ges­ture, Mourad pro­du­ces pain­tings that are fan­tas­ti­cal, thea­tri­cal, and lyri­cal.