Najla El Zein

Last updated
Najla El Zein
Born1983
Beirut
Alma mater
Occupation Artist, designer, visual artist
Website https://najlaelzein.com/
[ edit on Wikidata]

Najla El Zein (born 1983) is a Lebanese artist and designer.

Contents

Biography

Najla El Zein was born in Beirut in 1983. [1] [2] She was raised in Paris, where she moved at the age of two. [3] She studied interior architecture and product design at the École Camondo school of art in Paris. [4]

In 2019 El Zein was commissioned by the Qatar Museums Authority to design Us, Her, Him, a limestone sculpture located in Flag Plaza [5] [6] [7] which was completed in 2022. [8] Also in 2019, El Zein staged her first solo show, Transitions, at the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York. [9] [10] The title of the exhibition and the pieces she created were inspired by her experience of the "emotional and physical transformation" of pregnancy. [11] [12] [13]

Following the 2020 Beirut explosion, El Zein produced a series of sculptural pieces titled 6.07, the name being a reference to the time of the blast. The proceeds from the sale of the pieces were donated to a local NGO called Beb w’ Shebbek. [14] [15]

Her work has been exhibited at and acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, [3] London, and the Dallas Museum of Art, TX. Her work was also included in the exhibition Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth at Chatsworth House, and The New Transcendence at Friedman Benda Gallery, NY (both curated by Glenn Adamson). [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

She has studios in Amsterdam and Beirut. [3] [16] [22] [23]

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References

  1. ↑ "Najla El Zein". www.friedmanbenda.com. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Najla El Zein – Biography". www.mutualart.com. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Martin, Hannah (2019-02-17). "Lebanese Designer Najla El Zein Tells Her Story With a Sculptural Line of Furnishings". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  4. ↑ "Najla El Zein – Friedman Benda". www.friedmanbenda.com. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Us, Her, Him by Najla El Zein". Qatar Museums. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  6. ↑ "Designer Najla El Zein curates the best of art from MENASA". yearsofculture.qa. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Qatar-MENASA 2022 Year of Culture celebrates Flag Plaza with Najla El-Zein's new public art". Qatar Tribune. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  8. ↑ "Public Art in Qatar: Us, Her, Him (2022) by Najla El Zein". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Najla El Zein's "sensual" furniture goes on show in New York". Dezeen. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. ↑ "Najla El Zein Personal Journey Finds its Form". Whitewall. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  11. ↑ Chemaly, Tracy Lynn. "Post-pregnancy contemplation in Najla El Zein's furniture series". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  12. ↑ "Sensualità, seduzione, desiderio e gravidanza nelle sculture di Najla El Zei". ELLE Decor (in Italian). 2019-03-13. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  13. ↑ "Najla El Zein: Transition". TLmagazine. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  14. ↑ Shehmir, Ayesha (June 5, 2021). "Product Designer Najla El Zein Pays Tribute To Beirut". Harper's Bazaar Arabia.
  15. ↑ Sawaya, Gioia (2020-09-24). "bebeirut architects partners with beb w shebbek to rebuild homes after the beirut blast". designboom | architecture & design magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  16. 1 2 "Mirror Mirror: Najla El Zein". www.chatsworth.org. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  17. ↑ "Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth". www.chatsworth.org. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  18. ↑ Bertoli, Rosa (2023-03-17). "Chatsworth House design exhibition explores contemporary design themes in an eclectic setting". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  19. ↑ Madlener, Adrian (2023-03-17). "How Can You Make an English Manor Filled With Old Masters Feel Contemporary? At Chatsworth House, the Answer Is Cutting-Edge Design". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  20. ↑ Barandy, Kat (13 January 2024). "the new transcendence: friedman benda highlights artists from andrea branzi to samuel ross". designboom architecture & design magazine. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  21. ↑ "Friedman Benda NY considers design as motifs of ‘The New Transcendence’". www.stirpad.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  22. ↑ Rote, Laura (2021-11-11). "Lebanese Designer Najla El Zein Lets Stone Tell the Story". Sixtysix Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  23. ↑ Donoghue, Katy. "Najla El Zein Personal Journey Finds its Form". Whitewall. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
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