Marie Khouri | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 18, 1960 |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
Marie Khouri (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian sculptor currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. [1]
Marie Khouri was born in Cairo, Egypt and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. [2]
After Khouri's father was killed during the Lebanese Civil War, she along with her family fled Lebanon. [3]
They spent time in Spain and Canada before finally settling in Paris, France. [4]
During her time in Paris, Khouri attended sculpture courses at École du Louvre. [5]
Before starting her career as a sculptor, Khouri worked as a translator and financier in Paris. [6]
Khouri's work has been exhibited mainly in North America and Europe but has also been displayed in other places.
Her first public art installation named Le Banc or The Bench was installed at the Olympic Village Station, an underground station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system in 2009 and was intended to double as a functional seating area. In 2010, shortly after the line opened, it was disfigured by skateboarders performing grinds on it. Khouri repaired it at her own expense. [7]
Le Banc was also installed at the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. [8]
In 2011, she loaned another public art sculpture to the same station titled Histoire d’O, which was originally her first large sculpture piece created in 2006. [9] In 2013, the sculpture was also displayed at the Presidential Palace in Djibouti City, in 2014 at the Miami Hand Centre in Miami, Florida in the United States and at the Le Soleil Hotel in New York City.
Khouri was named as Western Living Magazine's Industrial Designer of the Year in 2012. [10]
In 2013, Khouri created the artwork DH2, which was displayed at the New World Tower in Hong Kong.
Her work Let's sit and talk which was also her first solo exhibition, was displayed at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada in 2014. [11]
Khouri's work You and I was displayed at the Harmony Arts Festival in 2015 and at the TED event Dream in 2016, both in Vancouver. [12]
In 2017, her work Vessels and Mirrors was installed at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris and her work and Flight of Doves at the British Columbia Children's Hospital. In 2022, the sculpture was stolen from the hospital but was recovered within a few days. [13]
Khouri's solo exhibition, titled Bronze also took place at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver in 2018. [14] [15] The same year, her second installation titled Water Fountains was installed at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris.That year, her work Eyes on the Street at Concerpt Properties [16] in Olympic Village in Vancouver was named the 2018 Public Art Winner at The Urban Development Institute (UDI) Awards for Excellence gala. [17]
In 2021, her public art From The Ground Up was displayed at Oxford Properties in Toronto. The same year, Khouri was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite by the President of France for her achievements. [18]
Her exhibition I love was displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2023 paying homage to the calligraphic nature of Arabic in her work. [19] The same year, Khouri received the British Columbia Achievement Applied Art and Design Award of Distinction. [20]
In 2024, her work Unfold was displayed at the Amazon office in Vancouver. The same year her work Lumiere was featured as part of the Splash 2024 Art Collection, which raised money for Arts Umbrella, a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to arts education. [21] Her work from her exhibition I love, was also featured at the Forever is Now event at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt the same year. [22] [23]
Khouri's international exhibitions include The Grand Tour at Abbazia di San Gregorio, Colnaghi Gallery x Chahan Minassian at the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy in 2019, the Collective Design Fair at the Chahan Gallery New York City in 2018, at the Pavilion of Art and Design in Paris, and Pavilion of Art and Design in London and others.
She married her husband, Robert Khouri, in 1985. They have two daughters and a son. Khouri lives in Vancouver with her family.