Huguette Caland

a Life in a Few Lines

Caland, Huguette
Feldman, Hannah (ed.) (...)

Published in conjunction with the retrospective Huguette Caland. A Life in a Few Lines, this catalogue surveys the career of Lebanese artist Huguette Caland (Beirut, 1931–2019) by way of eight essays, texts written by Caland and the reproduction of an array of works from different periods, some displayed for the first time here.
The publication, structured chronologically, opens with a broad and exhaustive essay written by the show’s curator, Hannah Feldman, who sets forth a panoramic view of Caland’s prolific and diverse art-making — how it spans wide-ranging plastic contexts and mediums and is characterised by a fervent commitment to life and art, two dimensions she felt were deeply entwined. This is followed by research conducted by six historians who focus on different aspects, for instance her creative beginnings in her hometown of Beirut; the expressive freedom she discovered in Paris; her foray into fashion design; the formal containment she experimented with in Venice, California; and her final reflections on old age and memory. The concluding section centres on the artist via three of her poems, introduced by her daughter, Brigitte Caland.