Background
Huguette Caland was born in 1931, in Beirut, Lebanon. She was a daughter of Bechara El Khoury, who was the first post-independence President of Lebanon.
American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
During the period from 1964 till 1968, Huguette studied art in the Fine Arts Department at the American University of Beirut.
Huguette Caland was born in 1931, in Beirut, Lebanon. She was a daughter of Bechara El Khoury, who was the first post-independence President of Lebanon.
At the age of 16, Caland became interested in painting and studied under Italian artist Fernando Manetti. During the period from 1964 till 1968, Huguette studied art in the Fine Arts Department at the American University of Beirut.
In 1964, Caland executed a sculpture portrait of her father and also began the first prototypes of her embroidered and hand-painted gowns. In 1970, she held her first solo exhibition at Dar Al Fan in Beirut. The same year, in 1970, the painter settled down in Paris, where she lived and worked as an artist for 17 years.
During her time in Paris, Caland began visiting the Feraud studio, as well as meeting other famous personalities, including André Masson, Pierre Schaeffer and Adalberto Mecarelli. It was in 1979, that Caland worked with a designer Pierre Cardin on the creation of a line of caftans, that were displayed at Espace Cardin. After that collaboration, Huguette started to create patterned, textile-like compositions. Also, it was in the 1970's, that the painter reached international fame with a series of erotically charged abstract artworks.
Between 1981 and 1982, Huguette lived and worked in New York City. In 1982, she returned to Paris, where she began working with a Romanian sculptor George Apostu on a series of stone, wood and terracotta sculptures. Between 1983 and 1986, Huguette divided her time between Limousin and Paris, producing numerous paintings and sculptures during that period of time. In 1988, she settled down in Venice, Los Angeles, and became an internationally recognized painter, sculptor, fashion designer and filmmaker. In 2013, she came back to her native Beirut.
Also, it is worth noting, that Huguette was instrumental in organizing an international exhibition of Palestinian embroidery and costumes at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.
During her career, Huguette took part in numerous group exhibitions, including those, held at the Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut (2012), Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012), Prospect 3 Biennale, New Orleans (2014), Frieze Masters, London (2014), Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2016), 57th Venice Biennale (2017), among others.
She also held several solo exhibitions, including those at Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut (2011), Beirut Exhibition Center (2013), Tate St Ives (2019) and others.
The recurrent motif in Caland's work was the female physique, often painted as landscape, with voids and mountain-like forms, composed of body fragments. The female characters are often accompanied by a male persona to imply the notion of the sexual impulse. With her lively whimsical colors and the innovative representation of the flesh, Huguette struck a delicate balance between the abstract and the explicit.
Caland's use of line was central in her work, whether in the edges, that divided her painted forms, or in her numerous ink drawings.
Some works of the painter are related to people from Caland’s personal life. In "Mustafa acrobate" (Mustafa Acrobat), Mustafa, her lover in Beirut, is drawn as a strongman, adorned with multiple faces and holding up an intricate tangle of bodies and body parts. Other drawings almost resemble musical scores, while "Self-Portrait" (Bribes de corps) (Body Parts) and "Hi!" are direct celebrations of female sexuality. The work "Flirt", the only series of drawings with a single title, uses minimal lines to depict playful or erotic encounters through the kissing, poking and prodding of lips, noses and mouths.
Also, many of her works are inspired by the Byzantine mosaics and handwoven rugs, that blanketed the walls of Caland's native Beirut and childhood home.
Paul Caland, the nephew of the founder of pro-French newspaper L’Orient, was Hugette's husband. Their marriage produced three children.
Also, Caland had a lover, named Mustafa.