Art Event Hype: K20 Düsseldorf Honors Etel Adnan's Chromatic Palette
Etel Adnan's vibrant artistic and literary work, which bridges the Arab and Western worlds, will be showcased in an exhibition titled "Poetry of Colours" at the K20 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The exhibition, which opens on Thursday, March 30, at 7 pm and runs until July 16, promises to be a celebration of her unique "poetry of colours."
While the specific details about the location and dates of this particular exhibition named "Poetry of Colours" are not yet confirmed beyond this upcoming event at the K20, Etel Adnan's works are currently being displayed in various venues. For instance, her works can be seen at the Kunstmuseum Bern and Galerie Lelong, Paris, among others.
One of the highlights of the "Poetry of Colours" exhibition at the K20 will be a painting, a tapestry, a Leporello by Etel Adnan, and two ceramics by her life partner, the sculptor Simone Fattal. The exhibition catalog, designed in a painterly style, is available for purchase from Hirmer Verlag for 34 euros.
Etel Adnan, who passed away in November 2021, aged 96, in her chosen home of Paris, was a multilingual artist, speaking Turkish, Greek, French, and Arabic from a young age. She was born in Beirut in 1925, to a Greek mother and an Ottoman officer from Syria.
Adnan's paintings have similarities with Kandinsky, Klee, Nicolas de Staël, and Serge Poliakoff, but her work is not a copy of theirs. Rather, she created connections that resonate with these artists. Her works are inspired by phenomena such as mountains, the sea, floating birds, houses, and the lights of the big city.
A monumental, color-glowing ceramic tile, made last year according to Etel Adnan's design, will draw the audience into the exhibition. The exhibition's curator, Delot, sees beauty and spontaneity in Adnan's work.
Tickets for the exhibition cost 14 euros, with children and young people having free admission, students and trainees paying 5 euros. The exhibition will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am - 6 pm, with new uniform opening hours.
Etel Adnan was not only an artist but also a scholar in Paris, a lecturer in art philosophy in California, and a cultural journalist in Lebanon. Her work, particularly her "Journey to Mount Tamalpais" in the 1980s, painted and sang about Mount Tamalpais, which she observed from her home in the northern California town of Sausalito, near San Francisco.
The "Poetry of Colours" exhibition is a testament to Adnan's fearless approach to artistic crafts, her admiration for traditional Egyptian carpet weaving, and her ability to create a unique and captivating body of work that continues to inspire and engage audiences today.
In addition to the exhibition at K20, Etel Adnan's works can also be found in other venues such as the Kunstmuseum Bern and Galerie Lelong, Paris. The exhibition catalog for "Poetry of Colors," designed in a painterly style, features works like a painting, a tapestry, a Leporello by Etel Adnan, and two ceramics by her life partner, Simone Fattal, and is available for purchase.
