The Shade

THE SHADE

August 22, 2025 – January 1, 2026
Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00–18:00
Opening: August 21, 2025, 18:00
Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut
Curated by Jean-Marc Prévost

A Double Anniversary

Marking forty years in Germany and twenty in Lebanon, The Shade reflects on Sfeir-Semler Gallery’s dual history. Founded in Kiel and Hamburg, the gallery later expanded to Beirut in 2005. This move connected two artistic contexts and affirmed the vitality of Lebanon’s contemporary art scene. Consequently, this anniversary exhibition looks back through the lens of the present, exploring continuity, change, and renewal.

A Program Rooted in Dialogue

From its beginnings, the gallery engaged with social and political realities. It addressed questions of memory, identity, and the complex relations between the Middle East and the West. Over time, its direction became clear—driven by conceptual thinking, critical engagement, and a deep sense of artistic community. Moreover, this approach helped shape an ongoing dialogue between artists, audiences, and histories.

Generations of Artists

The gallery has championed key figures such as Walid Raad, Akram Zaatari, Marwan Rechmaoui, Wael Shawky, Taysir Batniji, Yto Barrada, Khalil Rabah, and Rabih Mroué.
It has also revisited Arab modernism through exhibitions of MARWAN, Etel Adnan, Aref el Rayess, and Samia Halaby.
Meanwhile, younger voices—including Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Mounira al Solh, Rayyane Tabet, Dana Awartani, Alia Farid, Tarik Kiswanson, Sung Tieu, and Dineo Seshee Bopape—extend this lineage, bringing new languages and perspectives. Together, these generations trace an evolving landscape of artistic thought.

Expanding Artistic Forms

Sfeir-Semler has played a central role in promoting video, photography, and performance in the Arab world. Its early collaborations with artists such as Robert Barry, Ian Hamilton Finlay, and Hans Haacke already signaled a move beyond painting and sculpture. Therefore, this commitment to conceptual and experimental practice remains at the gallery’s core. In turn, it has contributed to broadening the field of contemporary art in the region.

Works in the Present Moment

The Shade gathers recent works, many shown in Beirut for the first time.
They reflect on today’s fractured world. Wael Shawky’s Al Aqsa Park evokes conflict and belief; Rabih Mroué’s Again We Are Defeated confronts recurring violence; and Walid Raad’s Festival of Gratitude satirizes power and propaganda.

However, other works gesture toward renewal. Marwan Rechmaoui’s tree recalls rebirth, while Dana Awartani’s act of repair heals damaged heritage. Moreover, Dineo Seshee Bopape’s landscapes speak of memory and resilience, and Etel Adnan’s luminous horizons offer quiet poetry amid uncertainty.

Meaning of the Shade

The title evokes both mystery and transformation. Shadows may conceal or protect, yet they also mark what is ready to emerge. Drawing from Carl Jung’s idea of the “shadow,” the exhibition views darkness as a site of potential—where suppressed forms can come to light.
As in Renaissance painting, it is the shade that, paradoxically, gives depth to illumination.

Jean-Marc Prévost