Abu Dhabi, UAE — 17 October 2026 to 17 January 2027
Some artists paint what they see. Others paint what they carry within them. For Paul Guiragossian, art became a language for the human experience — a way to express belonging, separation, resilience and the quiet strength of togetherness.
This autumn, Abu Dhabi celebrates the centenary of one of the most distinctive figures in modern Arab art with Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art, a landmark retrospective at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on Saadiyat Island. Bringing together significant works from the artist’s estate, alongside archival photographs, personal documents and rarely seen materials, the exhibition offers an intimate look at the life behind the paintings.
Born in 1926 into an Armenian family, Guiragossian’s early life was shaped by displacement and migration. His family relocated from Jaffa to Lebanon in 1948, an experience that would resonate through the questions of identity, home and belonging that run across his artistic journey.
Yet his work is not simply a record of hardship. It is a celebration of human connection. His signature elongated figures, layered brushstrokes and closely gathered groups often seem to move as one — bodies leaning into one another, sharing space, carrying a collective weight. Faces may be simplified, but the emotions remain unmistakable. There is tenderness in the closeness, strength in the repetition, and a sense that even in uncertainty, people find ways to hold on to one another.
The retrospective traces Guiragossian’s artistic evolution, from his formative years to the international recognition he earned over decades of practice. It also brings his personal world into focus, highlighting the influence of three women in his life: his mother Rahel, his wife Juliette and his daughter Manuella.
For Lebanese audiences, the exhibition carries a particular resonance. Guiragossian’s story is deeply connected to Lebanon’s cultural history, while his paintings speak to experiences familiar across the region: migration, the search for home, the endurance of family and the persistence of memory. His work reminds us that identity is rarely a single place or story; it is shaped by everything we leave behind and everything we continue to carry.
Presented as part of a wider tribute to Lebanon through art, 100 Years of Art invites visitors to encounter Guiragossian not only as a celebrated modernist, but as an artist whose emotional vocabulary remains strikingly relevant today.
On Saadiyat Island, where Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape continues to grow, this retrospective offers a moment to pause before a body of work that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal. A century after his birth, Guiragossian’s art still asks a simple, enduring question: what does it mean to belong — and how do we keep that feeling alive?
Exhibition: Paul Guiragossian: 100 Years of Art
Venue: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
Dates: 17 October 2026 – 17 January 2027
