Sabhan, Kuwait – 11th December, 2012 – Sultan Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of ’Humble Shapes’, a solo show by Lebanese artist, Youssef Aoun.

When something is important, it’ll have been more important said ten times. This is what’s remarkable about Aoun’s work: his diligence as a painter. When the entire art world seems to have secretly agreed that painting is dead, Aoun insists it’s only just begun.

“It’s the wounding of art on the apart of the world and on behalf of the domains in art. For the last five years we have been saying painting is dead… On the contrary, I think that as long as there are walls there will be painting”.

The processes Aoun’s paintings suggest act as a narrative for the viewer when standing in front of the pieces.

“I like to define my artwork as being multidimensional. It’s the combination of abstraction and textured natural and mineral products. I make use of acrylic, sand, and marble powder… which blend into different lines, colors, and shapes. My artwork explores the visual representation of memories deeply marked by the war.”

To which one might add to the list of describing words “visceral” and “sensorial” implying a three dimensionality to his paintings that allow the viewer to enter the artist’s psyche, and consequently a universe of unprecedented thought.

In a similar exhibition held by Agial Gallery in Beirut last month, called Wounds, one viewer explained how the work felt slightly tortuous to look at. And indeed so. The tensions created by the contrasting materials used by Aoun analogously refer to the tensions between people and their fight over territory. He assures us, however, that it’s not meant to be political. Antagonism here is to be understood as a natural process and a necessary step in achieving social and cultural cohesion. Painting is not dead, it’s just hard. And smells funny.