Samia Halaby, born in Jerusalem and currently living in New York, is an abstract painter, academic, and former professor. The painting Black is Beautiful (1969) is part of a body of work produced to explore the limitations of seeing objects as they are, a habit she argued was forcibly taught through academia. In this painting, Halaby explores perspective, prompting the viewer to examine rounded edges. The painting directs the eye to consider the rounded curves of the cross shape. Once the eye settles on the liminal edge of the curve, it is invited to linger – the viewer’s gaze is held by specific points on the canvas. The exploration of form, shape, and the nuanced quality of edges was academically motivated, resulting in an abstract painting that adheres to the artist’s exploration of both formal and conceptual elements of abstract art.
This is the first time the work of Samia Halaby is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Heba Elkayal
