An Article by J. A. (1139 words, 6 min read)
Joseph El Hourany is an accomplished architect, urban planner, philosopher, and artist whose practice effortlessly transcends disciplinary boundaries. Based in Lebanon, his career reflects a dedication to creative exploration, enriched by a foundation of rigorous academic achievement. He holds a Master of Architecture (M.Arch., 1999), a Master of Urban Planning (MS., 2005), and bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy (BA., 2003) and Musicology (BA., 2007).
An Accomplished Architect
El Hourany’s architectural expertise is rooted in decades of international and local projects, earning him the presidency of the Arab Architects Organization in 2023. His doctoral research, completed in 2010 as a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Quebec in Montreal, delved into parametric architectural principles within the realm of cybernetics.
A Unique Artist
Since 1999, El Hourany cultivated a parallel career as a visual artist, focusing on sculpture and drawing. His works were showcased in numerous exhibitions and fairs, including the Aley International Sculpture Symposium (1999), La Centrale (2007, 2008, Montreal), Museum St-Hilaire (2008, Quebec), the Stata Center (2009, Boston), and ALBA (2011, Beirut). More recently, his pieces were featured in prominent fairs such as MENART (2022, Brussels, Paris), Art Dubai (2021–2024), and Abu Dhabi Art Fair (2021–2024). His 2021 solo exhibition, Retrospective (1995–2020), held at the Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut, offered a profound glimpse into his decades-spanning oeuvre.
A Renowned Author
El Hourany also authored several books, including The Future of the Past with John Carswell (2003), Specimen Zero (2010), Specimen One (2011), Guvder (2012), and Henri Edde Architecte Moderne (2019). His writings reveal his ceaseless curiosity and ability to weave narratives connecting art, architecture, and cultural identity.
It takes talent, expertise, courage and a hint of madness to be able to create and mold the unmoldable to breathe life into matter.
Collector
The Essence of His Practice
El Hourany’s work defies easy categorization, dissolving traditional boundaries between painting, sculpture, architecture, and design. His artistic philosophy embraces a central theme: art must persist as an object of contemplation, evoking timelessness and universality. He sculpts exclusively in rare, massif wood—a material of profound significance due to its scarcity and the challenges it poses. Each piece emerges from the mass, retaining the raw spirit of the wood while transforming into intricate, layered forms.
For El Hourany, this process reflects the constant interplay between control and surrender. While the material is allowed to “sing its melody,” it does so under his meticulous guidance. His works fuse the organic and the geometrical, embodying a dynamic tension that compels viewers to reflect on the relationships between nature, craftsmanship, and conceptual expression.
Arabic Calligraphy: Beyond Linguistic Boundaries
One of the most striking aspects of El Hourany’s practice is his sculptural engagement with Arabic calligraphy. Inspired by descriptive geometry and architectural principles, his calligraphic works transcend the confines of language and textuality. These sculptures explore indeterminate geometrical intersections, challenging the conventional associations of certainty and structure.
El Hourany’s process begins with the act of drawing, where Arabic letters and words are repeatedly transformed through sequential iterations. Often, over a hundred variations are generated from a single letter, shaping the concept of intertextuality, where meaning evolves through constant reinterpretation. These forms emerge from a “happy accident” of creative processes, as theorized by Bergson, giving rise to hybrid compositions that merge past and future architectural references.
The resulting sculptural calligraphies are not mere representations of text but are living, dynamic forms that bridge the organic and the structural. Each piece begins with a careful assessment of the volume of massif wood, ensuring that the final work retains the essence of its raw material. These sensitive creations serve as alchemical vessels, carrying with them the architectural vocabularies of old eras while suggesting new languages for future explorations.
Totemic Portraits: Memory and Monumentality
Another defining feature of El Hourany’s work is his series of totemic sculptures, which reinterpret the concept of the portrait. In his view, totems shape the rights of civilizations over defined territories, representing cultural symbols, scenes of life, and familial heritage. Drawing inspiration from the family trees that adorned his childhood home, he constructs these towering sculptures to evoke both personal and collective histories.
The totems transcend mere physical representation. They integrate figures, symbols, and abstract geometries, creating a confluence of human, historical, and allegorical dimensions. These sensitive structures unfold along “timelines,” serving as pathways of memory and learning. Each totem encapsulates stories of lost time and rediscovery, offering viewers a tangible connection to the past while inviting them to reflect on the enduring legacies of human civilization.
In his totems, El Hourany reimagines the portrait as a sculptural form that resists conventional definitions. Rather than imposing a fixed interpretation, he crafts compositions that challenge the viewer to engage with the complexities of memory, identity, and cultural symbolism.
Reimagining Portraits: A Contemporary Approach
For Joseph El Hourany, the portrait—particularly the human head—represents a timeless yet challenging theme in contemporary sculpture. Historically, the head was a basis of artistic expression, serving as one of the earliest mediums of portable representation. However, in a modern context, it risks redundancy. El Hourany addresses this dilemma by reimagining the portrait as a sculptural narrative that moves beyond traditional definitions.
In his works, the head transforms into an abstract amalgam of forms that defy simple categorization. Drawing on the verticality of totems and the fluidity of geometric abstraction, these portraits integrate symbols, shapes, and human features to explore memory, identity, and cultural lineage. Each sculpture evokes a “nomadic vision,” where the individual and collective histories converge into an intricate composition that resonates with universal themes.
El Hourany’s portraits are not simple physical representations; they serve as philosophical inquiries into the nature of identity. By employing abstract and symbolic elements, he opens a space for viewers to project their own interpretations, ensuring that each piece remains an object of contemplation, enriched by the complexity of its form and meaning.
Intertextuality: An Artistic Statement
El Hourany’s recent exhibition, Intertextuality, exemplifies his interdisciplinary approach. The concept of intertextuality, borrowed from linguistics, refers to the shaping of meaning through relationships between texts. In his sculptures, El Hourany applies this principle to the universe of form, where materials, symbols, and historical references interact to produce works of profound complexity.
This approach is particularly evident in his sculptural calligraphies and totemic portraits, where overlapping volumes and repeated motifs invite endless reinterpretation. By engaging with these works, viewers are drawn into a dialogue that transcends the boundaries of time, place, and medium.
Through his art, Joseph El Hourany continues to dissolve the barriers between disciplines, creating works that speak to the universal human experience. Whether exploring the depths of memory, the evolution of language, or the enduring power of form, his creations include a timeless pursuit of meaning and beauty.
