Marwan Rechmaoui

Background

Marwan Rechmaoui was born in 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He lived there till the age of eight when his parents moved to Abu Dhabi.

Education

For his studies, Marwan Rechmaoui moved to Boston and then to New York, eventually returning in 1993 to Beirut, where he still lives and works. Rechmaoui received degrees from the New England School of Art & Design (1989) and Massachusetts College of Art and Design (1991), both in Boston. He also attended the Art Student League of New York (1993) and New York University (1993).

Career

Marwan Rechmaoui started his career as a painter, exploring social realism and abstract expressionism. After his return to Beirut, Rechmaoui's work became more conceptual in character, and he created architecturally and industrially formed sculptures, relief works, and installations. Rechmaoui's installation and relief work is inspired by the geography and rich cultural history of Beirut, and often reflects themes of urbanization and contemporary social and behavioral relationships.

For example, his Beirut Caoutchouc is a large black rubber floor mat in the shape of Beirut’s current map. Embossed in precise detail with roads and byways and segmented into 60 individual pieces demarcating neighbourhoods, Rechmaoui’s installation scrutinises the physical and social formation of one of the world’s most conflicted cities. Through this piece, Rechmaoui highlights these divisions to question the underlying causes and consequences of cultural difference, affiliation, and identity, and explore how the city’s troubled history has both impacted and shaped the everyday lives of its inhabitants.

In his work Marwan Rechmaoui derives inspiration from the geography and complex multi-cultural history of Beirut, reflecting on themes of urbanization and contemporary social and behavioral demographics. In lieu of mapping urban spaces, the artist does not view the city according to typical urban planning standards, instead, he points to socio-political affiliations and etymological histories from each community.

His work has been shown in exhibitions in Lebanon and abroad, including, Darat al Funun, Amman (2018); Ashkal Alwan, Homeworks 7; Art Unlimited, Basel (2017); Beirut (2015); Istanbul Biennial 13 (2015); Here & Elsewhere, New Museum, New York (2014), Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France (2013); Sharjah Biennial (2013 & 2005); Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2012); Saatchi Gallery, London (2009); Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (2009); Musée d’art Contemporain de Nîmes, France (2008); and Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium (2008).

Achievements

• Marwan Rechmaoui is best known as a postwar and contemporary artist. His works are in the collections of Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, The Sharjah Art Foundation, among other major private and public collections. He is also the recipient of the 2019 Bonnfanten Award for Contemporary Art.

Works

More photos

• artwork

  • Veni, Vidi, Vici

    2013

  • Monument for the Living

    2002

  • Blue Building

    2015

  • Eraserhead

    2014

  • Beirut Caoutchouc

    2004

  • Pillar Series

    2014

  • Untitled 12

    2017

  • Tetris

    2014

  • Untitled 22

    2001

  • Tapestries

    2019

  • Spectre

    2006

  • Bougainviller

    2017

References

• Metropolis
  2017