Nabil Kanso
Untitled - From the series Place des Martyres (1971-1974)
1973 -
Watercolour on paper
50 x 36 cm.
A series of ink and watercolor (aquarelles) works created by Nabil Kanso between 1971 to 1974. Kanso completed the series in New York and Beirut, based on the red-light district adjoining Beirut’s el Bourj (Al Burj) district, also known as Place des Canons, named after the cannons placed there by the Ottoman, and renamed Martyrs Place (Place des Martyrs in French) to commemorate the hanging of a number of Arab nationalists who sought independence from the Ottoman Empire.
The works in this series depict life in and around el Bourj and offer an intimate view of street scenes and encounters between men and women, while retracing history lost to the Lebanese Civil War.
Kanso’s series is titled “Place des Martyres”, spelled “Martyres” with an “e”. As the artist explains, “This is a very important aspect. Since Al Burj—the area—is called ‘Place des Martyrs’, and in French, ‘Martyrs’ with an ‘r’ can be masculine or feminine. So the way I wrote it was with an “e”, ‘Place des Martyres’, which means women. Those were the martyrs in this case. And, when the plaza was destroyed during the civil war, it became also a martyr. So it’s very appropriate, because Al Burj, Place des Martyrs, was one of the first casualties of the Lebanese Civil War—it was completely destroyed. [And] this has a little bit of ironic symbolism to name it Place des Martyres, it plays on two things, the women and the place itself that [both] became martyrs.”
Reference NK-WP-1973-B
About the artist
Born in Beirut, Lebanon 1940
Died in Atlanta, USA 2019
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Nabil Kanso (1940-2019) became part of the art scene in the 1960s, while studying at New York University. In 1970-71, Kanso expanded his studio at 76th Street to encompass an entire five-story townhouse, which he called 76th Street Gallery and where he held numerous exhibitions through the early-to-mid-1970’s. During the mid-to-late 1970s, Kanso lived and traveled between New York, Lebanon, and across the American South, ultimately establishing a studio in Atlanta.
In the 1980s, Kanso launched his multi-exhibition project “Journey of Art for Peace” across Central and South America, the Middle East, and Europe which included solo exhibitions in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Kuwait, and Switzerland. Having witnessed the devastation brought about by a fifteen-year civil war in his homeland, Kanso made anti-war activism a central tenet of his practice. He combined messages of peace, pacifism, and humanism in his work that dealt with the horrors of war. Kanso's oeuvre also includes a strong focus on literature, history, and other themes deeply influenced by a sense of shared humanity.
The Nabil Kanso Estate was founded after Kanso’s passing in 2019 to advance his lifelong mission through the preservation, exhibition, and publication of the artist's work. Kanso’s work has recently been the subject of a major installation at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (2023 - 2024) and a solo exhibition at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art in New York (2024). His life is the subject of the scholarly biography, entitled Lebanon and the Split of Life: Bearing Witness through the Art of Nabil Kanso by Meriam Soltan (Anthem Press, May 2024), and in February of 2025, the Edythe and Eli Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University is set to open Nabil Kanso: Echoes of War, curated by Rachel Winter (February - June 2025).
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