Huguette Caland: a life in a few lines

The Museu Nacional Centro d'Art Reina Sofía is hosting the first major European retrospective dedicated to the Lebanese artist Huguette Caland (Beirut, 1931-2019). The exhibition, organized in collaboration with Deichtorhallen Hamburg, brings together nearly 300 works, many of them previously unpublished, including drawings, paintings, textiles, sculptures and collages from Europe and the United States.

Caland was the only daughter of Bechara El Khoury, the first president of the Lebanese Republic after independence, and showed, from a young age, an interest in art, beginning her studies at the age of 16 under the tutelage of the Italian artist Fernando Manetti. She later continued her education at the American University of Beirut and throughout her life, resided in several cities such as Paris, Los Angeles and New York, an experience that profoundly enriched her artistic and personal perspective.

Enlève ton doig, Huguette Caland (1971). © Cortesia Huguette Caland Estate

The exhibition at the Reina Sofía, spread over 12 rooms, offers a chronological and thematic journey through the different stages of his career. From his early works in Beirut to his time in Paris and the bohemian Venice Beach of Los Angeles during the 1990s and early 2000s. His work was characterized by challenging the aesthetic, social and sexual conventions of his time, exploring themes such as female freedom, sensuality and cultural identity. Among his most outstanding series is Bribes de corps, where Caland investigates the abstraction of the human body through sensual shapes and intense colors.

Untitled (Bribes de corps), Huguette Caland (1978). © Cortesia Huguette Caland Estate

The exhibition also includes her signature caftans, the result of her 1979 collaboration with designer Pierre Cardin, which fuse fashion and art into unique pieces. In addition, a series of self-portraits and lesser-known works are presented that reveal her constant experimentation with different techniques and materials. Manuel Segade, director of the Reina Sofía, highlights that this is one of the most ambitious temporary exhibitions of the season, and underlines the importance of giving visibility to a fundamental artist with a singular career and a multifaceted work, full of abstraction, corporeality and a deep dialogue with the traditions of the Middle East.

Guerre incivile, Huguette Caland (1981). © Cortesia Huguette Caland Estate