Lebanese Painter Impresses New York Arts Scene

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'Cadences of Color', an exhibition of paintings containing creations by Beirut-based artist Joe Abou Jawdeh received much attention by New York's lovers of the Arts who visited the famous Agora Gallery at the city's Chelsea area from July 5^th-25^th.

Jawdeh hopes that the strong appeal his work enjoyed in the Big Apple could pave the way to fame for more Middle East-based painters, who have the talent but not the means or the right connections to succeed on the international stage.

"I am lucky to have been given this tremendous opportunity to showcase my works of art in one of the most sophisticated and inspiring galleries of New York City as this exhibition has launched me as an artist in ways that I never thought possible before," said Jawdeh.

"Acquainting my color saturated voluminous body of work with so many art collectors, curators, gallery-goers and painting lovers at the heart of the world's Arts scene was a dream come true and I feel blessed for the honor. I just want to see many more Arab artists have their work recognized internationally because the Middle East possesses an unrivalled wealth of talented and spirited young artists who are waiting to be discovered."

His work expresses real life in color, freedom and new beginnings. The artist expresses that freedom through a painting style that combines clear, compelling compositions with a wide range of techniques and a varied color palette. He calls his work "modern, realistic and serene," and in it all three of those elements come into play. The resulting paintings feel both contemporary and timeless.

Working in acrylics on canvas, he takes advantage of the intensity that acrylics provide - giving pinks, blues and yellows, as well as subtle earth tones, an immediacy that communicates with the viewer. That immediacy is made even stronger by the textural variety of his paintings. Drips intersect with written text and intricately rendered figures to create works that have a dynamic surface tension as well as a solidly grounded sense of structure. The artist says his aim is to mirror "different perspectives of reality," and his images vividly create that mirror.

Angela Di Bello, Agora Gallery Director said: "Joe Abou Jawdeh world, as reflected in his work, speaks of seeing and observing life in a new reality. The thematic content of the work is that of revealing what is perhaps often considered, but successfully depicted on canvas, by very few. That life, and the world we live in, can seem surreal and that many of our challenges are profoundly unsettling."

A few words for Joe Abou Jawdeh

Inspired by Jean Michel Basquiat's freestyle and loving Frida Kahlo's power and passion, Joe's paintings are always full of original characters and abstract forms that capture the painter's views about life and the world around him.

Through his paintings Joe explores paths of colored life, freedom and new beginnings, reflecting revolutionary aspects of existence and contradictable feelings. Modern, realistic and serene, Joe gives new perspectives to reality.

Joe discovers his talent early on. Born in Lebanon 1982 in Deir EL Harf. He grew up in an endlessly inspiring pine tree village in the Metn province. During his childhood, Joe used to accompany his mother Therese to work. As a singer, Therese's environment was full of artists, backstage people, and make-up artists, light engineers, all of whom influenced Joe's appreciation of light, colors, and design. By the age of 5, Joe was already creating interesting drawings on cardboards-really anything he could sketch on- or putting together stones in the form of abstract objects.

For Joe, painting is therapeutic, but it should also carry a message or support a cause. "I don't think about painting as 'art' it's more about the person or the story. I would like people to be moved, through my paintings, to take action and help improve the world. I have lots of messages to send-each painting is a message."