Huguette Caland (; née El Khoury; 19 January 1931 – 23 September 2019) was a Lebanese painter, sculptor and fashion designer known for her erotic abstract paintings and body landscapes. Based out of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, her art was displayed in numerous exhibitions and museums.

Early life

Caland was born into a Lebanese political family in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on 19 January 1931. Her father,

Bechara El Khoury Bechara Khalil El Khoury (; 10 August 1890 – 11 January 1964) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 1st president of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption (11–22 Novembe ...

, became the first post-independence president of Lebanon in 1943, serving the country for nine years.

Career

Caland came to art somewhat late in life, beginning her studies at the

American University in Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs lead ...

in her 30s. In 1970, she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where she lived and worked as an artist for 17 years. She became a regular guest at the Feraud studio, meeting many artists, including

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (; 4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brus ...

Pierre Schaeffer Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His inno ...

, and Adalberto Mecarelli. In 1979, Caland collaborated with designer

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...

, creating a line of caftans that were displayed at Espace Cardin. In 1983, Caland met Romanian sculptor George Apostu. From 1983 to 1986, they worked in Paris and in the

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

, creating many paintings and sculptures during this time. Caland moved back to Los Angeles in 1987, where she lived and worked for the next years. In 2013 she returned to Beirut to say goodbye to her dying husband and remained there until the end of her life. Among other exhibitions, Caland's work was included in the 2021 exhibition ''

Women in Abstraction Women in Abstraction. Another History of Abstraction in the 20th Century or ''Elles font l'abstraction. Une autre histoire de l'abstraction au XXe siècle'' was a major exhibition of 20th century abstract art created by women. It was curated by ...

'' at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* Huguette Caland, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2011 * Huguette Caland Retrospective, Beirut Exhibition Center, 2013 *Solo exhibition, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, 2018 *

Tate St Ives Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists with links to the St Ives area. The Tate also took over management of another museum in the town, the Barbara Hepworth Mu ...

, St Ives, UK, 2019 *"Faces and Places" Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, August to December 2020 *"Huguette Caland: Tête-à-Tête"

The Drawing Center The Drawing Center is a museum and a nonprofit exhibition space in Manhattan, New York City, that focuses on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary. History The Drawing Center was founded by former assistant curator of dr ...

, New York City, June 11–September 19, 2021

Group exhibitions

* Art from Lebanon, Beirut Exhibition Center, 2012 *

Institut du Monde Arabe The Institut du Monde Arabe (, ''Arab World Institute''; abbr. IMA) is an organisation founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values. ...

, Paris, 2012 * Prospect 3 Biennale, New Orleans, 2014 * Frieze Masters, London, 2014 * Hammer Museum, Made in L.A., 2016 * 57th Biennale de Venezia, 2017

References

External links

* Anne Mullin Burnham, 1994
Reflections in Women's Eyes
, ''Saudi Aramco World'' * Fayeq Owis, 2008
Huguette Caland
''Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists'' * Joanne Warfield

, ''The Scream'' * "Huguette Caland: Her Magical World", Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2003

Caland's page at the Levantine Cultural Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caland, Hughette 1931 births 2019 deaths Lebanese women painters Lebanese women sculptors Lebanese fashion designers Lebanese women fashion designers 20th-century Lebanese women 20th-century Lebanese people Lebanese expatriates in the United States Artists from Beirut American University of Beirut alumni Children of presidents of Lebanon Children of prime ministers of Lebanon