Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut | October 6 – November 13, 2026
An Article by D.M. ( 1344 words, 7 min. read)
The Tower of Babel: Where It All Begins
A tower rises towards the sky, built from irregular layers of ceramic, with small openings resembling ancient windows and surfaces marked by time. It could belong to a forgotten civilization, an archaeological discovery or a childhood fairy tale. There is something strangely familiar about it, something that awakens our curiosity and imagination.
These ceramic structures may be the centre of A Constant Flame, Jean Boghossian’s exhibition at Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut. Through the atmosphere created by the gallery and the thoughtful curation of Saleh Barakat, they establish the exhibition’s first language: one of transformation, memory and the passage of time. From these architectural ceramic elements, the visitor is gradually led towards the rest of Boghossian’s body of work, where fire, smoke, ashes, wood, plaster and pigment continue the same meditation in different forms.
The Babel Towers series draws inspiration from the biblical story of human ambition, the desire to reach heaven and the confusion of languages. Each level appears carefully constructed, while its irregularities give the sculpture the character of an ancient monument. Its ceramic surfaces resemble walls that have witnessed centuries of human existence.
These towers provide a key to what follows. Their fragile architecture suggests both construction and collapse, aspiration and vulnerability. They introduce Boghossian’s interest in materials that carry traces of transformation, while the gallery’s quiet, contemplative mood allows the works to unfold as part of a larger narrative rather than as isolated objects.
Standing before these towers, we think about our endless desire to build, to understand and to leave something behind. Their apparent fragility makes them particularly touching. They seem to contain the ambitions and vulnerabilities of humanity within their small architectural structures.
The Languages of Humanity
The story of Babel also introduces another fascinating interpretation of Boghossian’s work: the diversity of languages and the difficulties of communication between people.
As the visit continues, certain compositions suggest ancient scriptures, fragments of alphabets and mysterious signs belonging to different civilizations. Their lines and markings can be imagined as words written in languages from across the world, messages that have travelled through centuries or pages from books whose meanings have gradually faded.
We find this interpretation particularly moving. We live in a world filled with languages, cultures and beliefs, each with its own history and identity. These marks seem to gather them together on the same surface, inviting us to imagine a conversation between people separated by geography and time.
Every viewer can discover a different language within the same abstract composition, guided by personal memories and experiences.
Smoke, Ashes and the Wounds of the World
The visit takes a more emotional direction through Boghossian’s extraordinary use of smoke and ashes.
At first glance, these works are remarkably beautiful. Delicate dark traces spread across pale surfaces, forming intricate patterns, floating lines and unexpected textures. Smoke seems to draw its own compositions, guided by the movement of air and the intensity of the flame.
Yet behind this beauty lies a troubling paradox.
Smoke and ashes are also familiar images of destruction. They rise above cities devastated by war, remain after explosions and settle upon the ruins of homes and monuments. Looking at these compositions, one immediately thinks of the painful images that have become part of our collective memory.
In a world shaken by wars, political tensions and international dilemmas, Boghossian’s artistic language acquires a particularly powerful meaning. The very elements associated with devastation become, through his creative process, sources of extraordinary visual beauty.
For those of us who have experienced war, the association is especially immediate. Smoke has a smell, ashes have a texture, and both awaken memories that remain deeply personal.
These works encourage reflection on humanity’s extraordinary ability to create and its equally powerful capacity for destruction. Their delicate surfaces invite us to consider the direction our civilizations are taking.
The Cedar Rising from the Ashes
The cedar occupies a particularly meaningful place in Boghossian’s artistic vocabulary. Through his exploration of fire, the tree seems quite literally to rise from its ashes. Burnt materials, pigments and textured surfaces give this transformation a physical reality. The very substance of the artwork participates in the idea of regeneration.
Across several canvases, the cedar appears through the abstraction of its leaves and branches. Multiple layers of mixed media create dense compositions where colors overlap, textures accumulate and organic forms gradually emerge. Greens, violets, earthy tones and darker marks suggest foliage that has endured the effects of fire and continues to grow.
The beauty of these compositions lies in their material richness. Each layer seems to belong to a different stage of the tree’s existence, while the irregular surfaces recall the bark, leaves and changing colors of nature.
The Rhythm of Matter
In the Rhythms series, Boghossian arranges pieces of paper into carefully structured compositions before allowing fire to transform their appearance.
Colors change, edges curl and textures acquire unexpected depth. The geometric arrangement gradually develops a more spontaneous character through the effects of combustion.
The accumulated materials create surfaces that sometimes resemble geological landscapes. Ochres, greens, browns and darker tones appear through cracks and irregular formations.
These works invite prolonged observation. A small fragment of color can transform the entire composition, while the smallest details reveal the artist’s remarkable sensitivity to matter.
Hokusai and the Eternal Great Wave
The Tribute to Hokusai series introduces a beautiful connection between contemporary abstraction and one of the most celebrated images in art history, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
In 2018, an accidental projection of plaster produced a form resembling a wave, inspiring Boghossian to develop an entire exploration of the sea through color, movement and texture.
There is something fascinating about revisiting Hokusai’s famous wave almost two centuries after its creation. Its dramatic movement, immense power and relationship with human vulnerability remain remarkably relevant today. The sea continues to inspire admiration and fear, while the forces of nature remind humanity of its own fragility.
Through accumulated plaster, cracks and pigments, Boghossian gives the wave a new material dimension. The surface appears to move, almost as though water had acquired the density of stone.
His interpretation also invites reflection on our contemporary relationship with the oceans, environmental changes and the growing challenges facing our planet. Hokusai’s wave remains an image of extraordinary modernity, and Boghossian approaches it with the freedom of an artist fascinated by the endless transformations of nature.
The Earth in Eruption
The Volcanoes series introduces a spectacular burst of energy.
Dark projections rise dramatically across pale surfaces, while intense colours gather beneath them. Blues, reds, greens and earthy tones create the impression of landscapes undergoing powerful transformations.
The movement is almost physical. One can imagine the force of an eruption, the sudden release of pressure and the extraordinary spectacle of nature reshaping itself.
The compositions reveal Boghossian’s pleasure in experimenting with materials and allowing unexpected effects to become part of the creative process.
Sculptures That Reach for the Sky
Boghossian’s Standing Woods series offers another fascinating encounter with fire.
Tall wooden sculptures rise vertically, their surfaces carved, twisted and transformed through controlled burning. Some develop elegant curves and rhythmic divisions, while others retain rough, deeply charred surfaces resembling ancient trunks.
The wood preserves its organic character, revealing the marks of its former life as a tree. The transformation is particularly touching, as a natural material acquires a new existence through sculpture.
A Flame That Continues
Born in Aleppo in 1949 into a Lebanese-Armenian family, Boghossian studied in Beirut before moving to Belgium in 1975. His artistic journey, which includes representing Armenia at the 2017 Venice Biennale, reflects decades of curiosity, experimentation and discovery.
Throughout A Constant Flame, his relationship with fire becomes a way of examining nature, memory and the human condition.
And perhaps the most powerful thought to take away from this exhibition is that the same flame capable of consuming an entire forest can also inspire an artist to create something of extraordinary beauty.
