Becoming Icon Curated by Yasmine Chemali

Becoming Icon
Curated by Yasmine Chemali
17 July 2025 – 20 June 2027
Collection Galleries, Level 2

How does an artwork become an icon?
And what does this passage into visibility — or its refusal — reveal about the stories we tell, the memories we awaken, and the communities we form?

Drawing from the Sursock Museum’s collection, as well as public and private loans, the exhibition explores recognition, exclusion, and legitimization in modern and contemporary art.

Some works stand out as visual landmarks, while others remain overlooked. Identity figures, memory sites, key events, and recurring motifs all reflect shared concerns. In highlighting these tensions, the exhibition offers a critical view of what it means to become an icon.

Throughout the galleries, concepts such as form, symbol, circulation, community, model, and emblem trace the processes of iconization. They also question the museum’s role in shaping visual memory. Thus, becoming an icon appears not as a passive event, but as an active, contested, and deeply political process.

Moreover, several works revisit inherited forms, reveal forgotten memories, or challenge the artwork’s ability to hold meaning — echoing the collective narratives embodied by any museum.

Image caption:
Etel Adnan, Mount Tamalpais, 1985
Oil on canvas
Gift of the artist to the Sursock Museum, 2007

Museum hours:
Wednesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00
Restaurant and shop: Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00

Sponsors:
Tinol, Commercial Insurance, Fonds de dotation Georges Corm, Bassam & Ghida Yammine Foundation, Marwan T. Assaf