An Article by C.J. (618 words, 3 min. read)
When Aram Jughian entered the exhibition hall at Rebirth Beirut, he was met with elation, warmth, and admiration. Arriving late, he stepped into a space filled with artists, collectors, and lovers of painting who had been waiting for him, and the applause that rose was filled with respect. It was a moment of recognition: the return of a great artist whose work had long been treasured yet had remained too often in the shade.
The Curator’s Vision
This reappearance was made possible through the curatorial sensibility of Dr. Tony Karam, and in collaboration with The Gallerist. More than organizing an exhibition, he offered an act of trust, restoring visibility to a master of abstraction. He explained: “Aram brings to life the concept of daughters, born of water and were clouds… an analogy of how paintings are made of a medium and are manifested in abstraction.” By giving form to this vision, Dr. Karam created not just an exhibition but a stage for Jughian’s voice to rise again.
Daughters, Water, and Clouds
For Jughian, each painting is alive. He calls them his “daughters,” creations born from his emotions and hands. Water is their medium, the fluid element that carries colors into movement, dissolves barriers, and nurtures the unexpected. Clouds are their destiny, forms that escape definition, open to interpretation, and shifting endlessly in the eye of the beholder. Through this trinity, Jughian reveals his poetic view of art: at once rooted in matter and free in spirit.
The Technique of Gesture
The sensitivity of Jughian’s work lies not only in concept but also in the technique that defines each canvas. His brushstrokes are spontaneous yet deliberate, guided by ritual rather than rigid plan. He begins with a free gesture, often compared to automatic writing, then builds through layers that preserve traces of every movement. This palimpsestic quality, where each surface holds memory of what came before, creates depth, resonance, and rhythm. His canvases are vibrant fields where abstraction is a lived experience.
He once said: “Between two rituals, there’s nothing to discover; all the colors are in nature, but we don’t know them until they touch us.” In his paintings, those colors appear reborn, flowing from one layer to the next, until they become something entirely new.
The Beauty of Abstraction
Aram Jughian’s abstraction is not a rejection of reality but a transformation of it. His canvases are filled with energy that hovers between the seen and the unseen, much like clouds shifting in the sky. Formally close to abstract expressionism, his art also echoes minimalism through its repetition and rhythm. Yet his approach remains uniquely personal: musical and alive with the immediacy of nature. In abstraction, he does not seek to solve mysteries but to let them exist, vibrating with tenderness and force.
A Beauty Both Tender and Powerful
The works on view at Rebirth Beirut in Gemmayze until October 11, carry titles like Sunrise, Willow Tree, Coup de Foudre, and Summer Wind. They are not literal depictions but epilogues, fragments of memory marking each ritual completed. In them, strength and delicacy coexist: colors breathe, forms float between presence and disappearance, and abstraction becomes an embrace of all that is fleeting. As art historian Fanny Dessartine observed, Jughian’s “ritual speaks the language of heaven.”
An Enduring Legacy
From Beirut to Paris, Moscow to Dubai, Aram Jughian’s works have traveled widely, entering public and private collections, resonating across continents.
Yet this exhibition feels like a homecoming, not just a return to visibility, but a celebration of his enduring relevance. His “daughters” once again stand in the light, alive with beauty, rhythm, and the infinite tenderness of their creator.
