Hiba Kalache

Short Bio

Through painting, I engage with social concerns and evoke personal emotions, particularly fascinated by the embodiment of sound, rhythm, and music during war times. Through the lens of the “belliphonic”, I translate war sound memories into layered paintings, and reshape perceptions of time and place. Inspired by Beirut's history, my work examines the causes and consequences of ideological warfares, and reflects notions of group psychology, self-sacrifice, survival, bereavement, identification, deified heroism, and love.

Statement

As a painter intrigued by the intersections of social and political spaces, identity, and psychology my work is shaped by my upbringing amidst the Lebanese wars. Through painting, I engage with social concerns and evoke personal emotions, particularly fascinated by the embodiment of sound, rhythm, and music during war times. Through the lens of the “belliphonic”, I translate war sound memories into layered paintings, and reshape perceptions of time and place. Inspired by Beirut's history, my work examines the causes and consequences of ideological warfares, and reflects notions of group psychology, self-sacrifice, survival, bereavement, identification, deified heroism, and love.

Biography

Hiba Kalache was born in Beirut, and now lives in California. She has recently participated in FOG fair with Altman Siegle gallery in San Francisco. Her solo shows include Our Dreams are a Second Life (2020), and Lemonade Everything Was So Infinite (2018), at Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon. Group exhibitions include Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France; Villa Romana, Florence, Italy; Beit Beirut Museum, Rose and Shaheen Saleeby Museum, Beirut, Lebanon; Newcomb Art Museum at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; The Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium; and the San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA.