The Darwichs
The Darwichs at Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE: Raouf Rifaï Collaborates with Nadine FayadArt Gallery.
Beirut, Lebanon. (October 7, 2021) – A new collection of Raouf Rifaï’s artworks is onexhibit at Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE – Lebanon Pavilion by Nadine Fayad Art Gallery,October 1 – 31, 2021 as part of the continuous collaboration between the famous artistand the gallery.
Nadine Fayad Art Gallery participates in regional art exhibitions, this time at Expo 2020Dubai, UAE – Lebanon Pavilion with exclusive masterpieces signed by artist Raouf Rifaï,forming a new chapter of the “Darwichs”.
Fundamentally human, Darwich, that is to say the “simple” in Arabic, encompasses thisambivalence that exists in everyone: vice and virtue, weakness and strength, the dimensionboth tragic and farcical of the human condition, as described by Dina Germanos Besson.The drawings thus cover a whimsical mixture of disparate elements, ranging from Ottomantarboosh to Egyptian peasant clothing, as well as Asian accessories, which, like theRabelais’ universe, forms a “monstrous assemblage”. The split figure, as divided as is allcluttered by language, the Darwich seems to offer a traditional representation of the ordinaryman, wearing a mask sometimes female, sometimes male, or both at once. But in reality,when you look at it, the Darwich, as it appears in Rifaï ‘s work, is not just a double figure.Where the artist innovates, where he catches something of his time, it is precisely when,taking us by surprise, he overflows these classic dichotomies: when he sprays all binarityto drive the Darwich on the trails of multiplicity. An interconnection of nested meaningsthatsuspends any claim to subjugate his work to a single meaning. Once transposed into thework of Rifaï, the Darwich emancipates from its original meaning (the ”simple”) to becomea polysemic icon, rich in complex and multiple resonances referring in particular to theSufi mysticism.
Ultimately, in a highly critical gesture, the Rifaïpaintings, expressing the absence of an ultimatetruth or meaning valid for all, decompose the Other and subvert his claims to a universalorder. The artist teaches us that there is a way to suspend the alienation of the drive by his work, he has managed to circumvent his usualmodes of satisfaction, to divert the indefinite cycles to irrigate its plastic creations. It is alsoin this thatRaouf Rifaï ‘s work is not only ironic: it also belongs to the category of the act,always in the psychoanalytic sense. But an act in psychoanalysis is that whichdependsonly on the enunciation of the one who assumes responsibility for it: the act is this uniqueevent, emancipated from any chain of determination, which is torn from any establishednorm. It suspends momentarily the round of speeches, and finally objects to the knowledgenot only of the Other, but of everything else, that is, ours as well.
Nadine Fayad Art Gallery, A fine art gallery committed to expressing modern andcontemporary figurative painting and sculpture. Driven by her passion, Nadine an artcollector, continues to enjoy the thrill of understanding the world through the eyes of anartist. We aim to make our gallery a leading landmark for visual arts where artists canexhibit and sell their works, whereas customers and guests enjoy a friendly environmentand professional advice”, she said.
