Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui

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Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui
Born (1945-09-15) September 15, 1945 (age 79)
Alexandria, Egypt
Nationality Lebanese, Belgian
Other namesBassili Sehnaoui
OccupationArtist
Known forPainting, Writing and Art
SpouseMarwan Sehnaoui (married 1974-present)
Children Khalil and Salim
Relatives Nicolas Sehnaoui (Cousin) Antoun Sehnaoui (Cousin)
Website Mouna Sehnaoui

Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui (born 15 September 1945) is a Lebanese painter, [1] writer, and artist.

Contents

Biography

Born in Egypt, Lebanese artist Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui attended the American University of Beirut [2] and the University of Arizona, where she studied Fine Arts. Sehnaoui works in a variety of formats ranging from painting, writing, design and sculpture. She has had solo exhibitions in Paris, Dubai, and Beirut. Sehnaoui currently lives and works in Beirut with her husband Marwan, President of the Lebanese Order of Malta [3] and sons Salim and Khalil Sehnaoui.

In the 1970s, Bassili Sehnaoui was in charge of the Graphic Art Department of the Lebanese National Council of Tourism. She also produced designs for stamps, packaging, posters, and book illustrations and created films for the Lebanese public television station. She later learned painting and typography, two disciplines she taught in Lebanese universities.

Her style is influenced by a Middle Eastern cultural heritage as reflected in the flat treatment of colours in both Byzantine icons and Persian miniatures. The treatment of space is very personal and brings a new dimension to a figurative approach by the use of hieroglyphic –like symbols and “windows” that open to reveal an added aspect of the subject treated. [4]

Since the early 1990s, she has produced albums of lithographs based on Phoenician legends and studied porcelain painting, while still working as a designer and illustrator. Bassili Sehnaoui has been exhibiting art since the mid-sixties. Her seemingly naïve paintings most often reference her own surroundings, her country and its cultural heritage. The works suggest a very personal interpretation of space where shapes and line interpenetrate in colourful harmonies.

Work

Her work has won several Prizes and figures in the Museum of Prints, Alexandria; the Sursock Museum, Beirut; the Art Collection of the American University of Beirut; the Bank Audi Art Collection as well as many private collections around the world.

Sehnaoui also designed the famous Lebanon logo, now widely used, for the Ministry of Culture in the 1960s, as well as several posters encouraging tourism in the country. [5]

Lebanon Ministry of Tourism Logo Lebanon Logo.png
Lebanon Ministry of Tourism Logo

She is also known for her paintings depicting the Lebanese civil war. [6] [7]

Solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

Selected books

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References

  1. ↑ "Byblos, Lebanon's Ancient Port, Is Reborn". The New York Times. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Beirut: A World of Art". The American University of Beirut. AUB. Fall 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rencontres A Mokhtara Entre l'Ordre De Malte Et L'Association Abou Hassan Aref Halaoui". L'Orient Le Jour. Orient-Le-Jour. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Zéna Zalzal (2015-06-13). "Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui (se) libère (de) ses peintures de guerre - Zéna Zalzal - L'Orient-Le Jour". Lorientlejour.com. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  5. ↑ "Design And Gender Identity In Lebanon". Olga Habre. NewsMedia SAL. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui On Painting The Lebanese Civil War". The Culture Trip. The Culture Trip. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "An Art Of War And Resilience". The Daily Star. Daily Star. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Exposition Of Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui @ Fine Art, Gallery Cherfan". Mondanité. MOndanité. 7 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui Se Libere De Ses Peinturesd De Guerre". Zena Zalzal. L'Orient-Le-Jour. 13 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Tout Comme Gibran Elle A Son Liban Sans Souillures". Colette Khalaf. L'Orient-Le-Jour. 11 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "Lebanese Artists Evoke Violent Past, Hopeful Future". NPR. NPR. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Bassili Sehnaoui Mouna". Beirut Exhibition Center. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
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