For forty years, Sfeir-Semler Gallery has served as a gateway between the Middle East and the global art world, shaping contemporary Arab discourse while amplifying voices that might otherwise be lost.
Founded in Germany in 1985 and later rooted in Beirut during one of Lebanon’s most turbulent chapters, the gallery has consistently defied instability to become a cornerstone of Arab artistic identity on the world stage.
This anniversary year is marked by a dual celebration: Abstract in Motion, a solo exhibition by Samia Halaby at the Downtown Beirut space, and The Shade, a sweeping group show at the Karantina gallery curated by Jean-Marc Prévost. Together, they encapsulate the gallery’s dual mission—preserving the legacy of pioneering Arab artists while nurturing the interdisciplinary, cross-cultural dialogue that continues to shape the region’s creative evolution.
A Gallery Built on Connection and Courage
When Andrée Sfeir-Semler first opened in Beirut in 2005, the city was reeling from political upheaval, yet more than 1,800 visitors walked through the door on opening day. The message was clear: artists in the Middle East were ready—and long overdue—to enter global conversation with the same quality, professionalism, and daring seen in Europe and the United States.
Over the decades, the gallery has been home to many of the most influential names in contemporary Arab art: Akram Zaatari, Wael Shawky, Etel Adnan, Rayyane Tabet, Mounira Al Solh, Marwan Rechmaoui. It has represented artists at Documenta, the Venice Biennale, and national pavilions across the world, becoming a key axis through which Arab narratives reach international audiences.
“The Shade”: Art in a Time of Global Unrest
At the Karantina gallery, The Shade gathers the full roster of Sfeir-Semler artists—each a distinct voice responding to the grey zones where history shifts and cultures collide. Many works are recent, shown for the first time in Beirut, and resonate deeply with today’s fraught geopolitical landscape.
Yto Barrada’s miniature landscape Tiptoe Through the Tulips reflects both nostalgia and critique, merging playful sculptural forms with the weight of Ottoman history. Wael Shawky’s animated film Al Aqsa Park takes on intensified meaning amid ongoing regional conflict, framing the Dome of the Rock as a paradoxical carousel of joy and control.
Other contributions, such as Rabih Mroué’s installation on cycles of violence or Dana Awartani’s textile meditations on heritage and repair, confront contemporary trauma through subtle acts of making—healing through process rather than proclamation.
Samia Halaby: A Life in Motion
Downtown, Samia Halaby’s Abstract in Motion presents a vibrant arc of her career: from early kinetic experiments to the lush, intuitive canvases of recent years. Halaby remains steadfast in her conviction that abstraction must resist figuration, preserving painting as a pure space for rhythm, form, and movement.
Her works—whether digital animations or energetic brush compositions—capture an inner dialogue between intuition and analysis, between freedom and structure. In many ways, Halaby’s journey mirrors that of the gallery itself: constantly experimenting, refusing limits, and finding new ways to speak across borders.
A Legacy for the Future
Together, the two anniversary exhibitions crystallize Sfeir-Semler’s contribution to the Middle Eastern art ecosystem: an unwavering belief that Arab artists deserve not only representation but leadership in defining global contemporary art. By bridging Beirut, Hamburg, and the wider world, the gallery continues to build pathways for future generations—ensuring that the region’s cultural stories remain visible, relevant, and transformative.
Abstract in Motion and The Shade run until 2 January 2026, marking a pivotal moment in a four-decade journey that has reshaped artistic exchange between the Middle East and the rest of the world.
