Marwan Sahmarani (Lebanese, b. 1970)

Marwan Sahmarani’s impactful freedom of gesture through brushstroke and heavy impasto showcases the raw energy in a form of intense vibrancy that highlights an act of violence that is surprisingly sensual whilst simultaneously aggressive. In Resignation and Rebellion Sahmarani gives the eternal themes of martyrdom, damnation and war a new expression in contemporary painting transcending boundaries of time, space and culture. Tortured faces and bodies amalgamate in a dense, overpowering mass of rich and fiery tones of heavy impasto across his vast and empowering canvas. Quintessentially raw but multi-layered, Sahmarani manages to forge his own unique identity that becomes impossible to remain unaffected; his innate ability to impress his viewers with a sharp criticism of social political issues in his native Lebanon reflects the premise of his oeuvre which incorporates recurrent themes of art history, namely the Old Masters with the Abstract Expressionists, with his own contemporary life and experience, drawing from his Western cultural education as much as his own Oriental identity. Maintaining a visual vocabulary that appeals to all, Resignation and Rebellion is instantaneously jarring yet captivating.