Huguette Caland (1931-2019) Composition circa 2002-2003 Mixed media on cut-out canvas, signed, titled and annotated on back 11 x 17 cm Provenance: > Gift of the artist to Samy Kinge, Galerie Iolas Paris Condition report : Framed Huguette Caland is a Lebanese painter, sculptor and fashion designer. In 1943, at the age of 12, she saw her father, Béchara el-Khoury, become President of Lebanon. As an only child, she was destined to become a devoted wife according to Lebanese traditions, but she felt a deep desire for freedom. She married a Frenchman, Paul Caland, nephew of one of her father's political rivals, and had several other love affairs. At the age of 30, Huguette Caland decided to study art at the American University of Beirut. She befriended Helen Khal, who founded the One gallery in Beirut and exhibited Caland's work alongside that of other leading figures of Lebanese modernism such as Etel Adnan, Simone Fattal and Shafic Abboud. In 1970, faced with the lack of understanding of her paintings in Lebanon, Huguette Caland left everything behind and moved to Paris. There, she began her famous Bribes de corps series and met major artistic figures such as André Masson, Pierre Schaeffer and Adalberto Mecarelli. In 1979, she collaborated with the famous couturier Pierre Cardin to create unique caftans. While in Paris, she met Romanian sculptor George Apostu, with whom she married and collaborated artistically. On the sculptor's death, Caland moved to Los Angeles, where her Venice studio became a meeting place for renowned artists such as Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, Ken Price and Nancy Rubins. (MLD)