Hiba Sinno, Office of Communications, [email protected]
At a time when much of contemporary art leans toward concept and installation, Against the Window, an exhibition at AUB's Rose and Shaheen Saleeby Museum turns the focus back to painting itself—its presence, persistence, and power to reflect the human condition.
Curated by the painter Bassam Kahwagi for AUB Art Galleries and Collections, the exhibition brings together 11 artists whose works challenge how painting is seen and experienced today. The selection, which includes Nour Akel, Amanda El Bitar, Mansour El Habre, Rola El Hussein, Hala Mouzannar, Walid Sadek, Nadia Safieddine, Hanibal Srouji, Adlita Stephan, Amy Todman, and Shawki Youssef, represents what Kahwagi calls “the most interesting painterly manifestations in Beirut and Lebanon today."
In his opening remarks, Dr. Octavian Esanu, the director and curator of AUB Art Galleries and Collections, reflected on how the exhibition began. “We all know that painting has been in crisis for quite some time," he said. “But I've always admired artists who remain committed to painting despite this. I asked Bassam to show us who, in his view, are the most interesting painters in Lebanon today—and he did everything, from the selection to the installation."
For Kahwagi, Against the Window is not simply an exhibition title, but a curatorial statement. “It's no longer about looking through a painting as a window to another world," he explained. “It's a mirror—one that reflects your own reality, your life, your country. The artists here work in direct confrontation with their medium, facing the canvas as a living space."
That confrontation—between form, matter, and meaning—runs through the show. Rola El Hussein describes her approach as one rooted in sensitivity and texture. “Even when there's a subject, it's just an excuse to use the line—to express transparency and emotion," she said. “I want people to look closely, to see the layers beneath." For Amanda El Bitar, one of the youngest participating artists, the exhibition builds a new dialogue between generations. “We work against the idea of painting as a window," she said. “Painting here is material, opaque, sometimes rough. It asks you to move around it, to look consciously, to think about how you see."
Visitors have also found the exhibition to be both unexpected and thought-provoking. “At first I saw acrylics, oils, and collages—images from magazines plastered on canvases," said Leen Buowadi, who attended the opening. “It was strange but brilliant. There's one canvas of blue and red circles that stayed with me. It looked simple, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I think it's impressive that AUB gives artists this platform—art in our region needs that kind of light."
As Kahwagi told the audience on opening night, Against the Window is “not in opposition to other art forms, but an invitation to other possibilities." In its quiet insistence, the exhibition reminds visitors that even in times of upheaval, painting remains a way of seeing—and of being—against all odds.
Against the Window is open to the public at the Rose and Shaheen Saleeby Museum, Sidani Street, Hamra, Monday to Friday, 12:00–6:00 pm, excluding official and AUB holidays until March 6, 2026.