Aref El Rayess
AREF EL RAYESS
Works 1960 – 1988
November 10, 2022 – January 21, 2023
hamburg
Political works
The Road to Peace original drawings, 1975
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In 1963 El Rayess was commissioned to represent Lebanon at the New York World Fair. He spent the following years in the USA and only returned home to Lebanon in 1967. During this “American phase”, he produced a seminal series known as the Flying Carpets. Evocative of long voyages and dreamy landscapes, the hues of greens and mauves were inspired by expansive sceneries the artist encountered traveling through rural America, and that contrasted with big cities. Somewhat reminiscent of Mark Rothko’s work, whom he met and exchanged with while in the US, the colors here become fluid, and melt into each-other making for softer, nuanced canvases.