Galerie Claude Lemand

Huguette & Nadine. Story of a friend­ship.
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Claude Lemand :
Dear Brigitte, I am very touched by your ini­tia­tive and the title of this mag­nif­i­cent exhi­bi­tion that you are orga­nizing to cel­e­brate the friend­ship between Huguette and Nadine. I wish to asso­ciate myself with it in the form of a fra­ternal tribute, and I will be whole­heart­edly with you all.
I hope that we will be able to orga­nize in Paris, at the Institut du monde arabe, the major ret­ro­spec­tive that deserves, - no later than 2031, the cen­te­nary year of the birth of your mother, - the great artist HUGUETTE CALAND.
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Brigitte Caland :
“Huguette pos­sessed a zest for life, and for her, any­thing was pos­sible. Her freedom and way of thinking took prece­dence, and she would sweep you along with her.” This is the affec­tionate sen­ti­ment expressed by Nadine Begdache when talking about her friend, the artist Huguette Caland.

In 1993, shortly after opening the Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Nadine pro­posed a Beirut exhi­bi­tion to Huguette, who eagerly accepted. In 1994, months before the opening, Huguette set­tled in Adma, a home pro­vided by her son Pierre, evoking mem­o­ries of her par­ents’ Kaslik res­i­dence, where she spent a decade, her inau­gural studio in the garden, Sunday lun­cheons with AUB friends, and her first exhi­bi­tion with Helen Khal. There, on the heights, she relent­lessly worked, cre­ating her “Faces and Places” series.

While 1990s Lebanon rebuilt with fervor after war, Huguette faced California’s chal­lenges. It was Nadine’s recog­ni­tion of her work’s value and stead­fast exhi­bi­tion schedule that enabled Huguette to thrive. The 1994 “Faces and Places” exhibit ini­tially bewil­dered Lebanese viewers but cap­tured hearts by 1997, igniting a 25-year part­ner­ship. Almost nightly, Nadine, in Beirut, phoned Huguette in Los Angeles to dis­cuss client desires and art­work specifics. Huguette’s pas­sion never waned. “She was serious, free-spirited, con­sci­en­tious, and moti­vated,” Nadine recalls. Their con­nec­tion flowed effort­lessly, marked by lively dis­cus­sions, laughter, and seam­less reunions. Nadine vis­ited Huguette three times in the ’90s, and they met reg­u­larly in Paris, sharing drinks and meals by the Eiffel Tower.

At Lebanese exhi­bi­tions, Huguette recon­nected with friends, family, and growing col­lec­tors. Nadine noted the impact of exhi­bi­tions like “L’argent (ne fait pas le bon­heur mais y con­tribue large­ment),” “Mes jeunes années,” and the Beirut Exhibition Center ret­ro­spec­tive, along with Huguette’s influ­ence on emerging artists.

From 2013, when Huguette returned to Lebanon and set­tled in Kfarhbeib, Nadine braved traffic to visit weekly, often sharing lunch. Even when ill, Huguette made plans. In March 2018, she moved to Beirut, where Nadine, her neighbor, brought com­forting dishes.

Nadine nos­tal­gi­cally reflects, “These were my best years: work was a joy, and our exchanges were warm, open, and authentic. I wish it had lasted longer; it feels too brief.” This bond leaves cher­ished mem­o­ries, photos, but no records of their count­less phone con­ver­sa­tions or fax cor­re­spon­dence.

For the Galerie Janine Rubeiz’s 30th anniver­sary, this exhi­bi­tion cel­e­brates the enduring col­lab­o­ra­tion and friend­ship between Huguette Caland and Nadine Begdache, high­lighting piv­otal moments in their journey.
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About the artist
Born in Beirut in 1931, Huguette Caland (née El Khoury) took her first painting lessons at 16 with Manetti, an Italian artist living in Lebanon. Following the passing of her father, Beshara El Khoury, one of the founders of the Lebanese inde­pen­dence and its first pres­i­dent, Caland decided to pursue her dream to become an artist.

After spending four years at the American University of Beirut where she studied Fine Arts, Caland moved to Paris in 1970. Liberated from social obli­ga­tions she was able to blossom and meet many con­tem­po­rary artists. In 1987, she moved to California where she estab­lished the studio of her dreams.

Caland’s art is reg­u­larly fea­tured in solo exhi­bi­tions or in group shows all over the world and was acquired by Centre Pompidou, La Bibliothèque Nationale, MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum-New York, The Tate, The British Museum, LACMA, Armand Hammer, Museum of Fine Art Houston, San Diego Museum of Art, Palm Spring Museum of Art, Sharjah Art Foundation, as well as pri­vate col­lec­tions in the United States of America, the Middle East, and Europe…

From May to October 2024, Huguette Caland’s paint­ings of the 70s will be fea­tured in a solo show at ICA Miami and from November 2024 to January 2025, an impor­tant ret­ro­spec­tive cov­ering the five decades of her career will be held at Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

Caland passed away on September 23rd, 2019, at the age of 88.