Ghassan Zard

B. 1954, Lebanon

Ghassan Zard is a Lebanese painter and sculptor based in Beirut. He creates a bestiary of forms, interpreting the anatomy of reality to recreate personal mythologies. Although his sculptures appear playful, they conceal something deeply rooted in the artist's being. Beyond the shape, there is something trying to emerge, as if containing a body in the process of being formed, an implicit entity that is incredibly present, waiting within each piece.

About his Work

Turtles on the Rooftop is an installation designed for multi-layered interpretation: it is a subversive political poetry in the making. The relationship between the seventy-five resin sculptures holds great symbolism. The year 1975 marks the beginning of the civil war, a paradoxical period, or the end of an illusion. Is it a call for peace or an aggressive invasion? Does it represent a harmonious movement or a static mediation?

After an extensive journey through the French Institutes of Lebanon and a stop in Beirut during Beirut Art Week, Ghassan Zard's Turtles have become part of the MACAM collection since 2016, where they are permanently exhibited in the abandoned hydrated lime factory. There, they interact and play with the space and structure of the site's old cement plant.