45 - ⊕ † HUSSEIN MADI (LEBANESE 1938-2024)

⊕ † HUSSEIN MADI (LEBANESE 1938-2024) ROUGE, 2022 inscribed Madi 96 lower right; signed, numbered and dated 1/11 MADI 2021 lower left pigmented Giclee print on Hahnemuhle canvas 99.9 x 107.4cm (104.2 x 111.1cm framed) Sold with a Certificate of Authenticity from TEAL Editions Property from a Private Collection, Beirut Born in the village of Chebaa, Lebanon, Hussein Madi embarked on an artistic journey that would bridge cultures, centuries, and visual philosophies. His formal training began at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) in Beirut, but it was in Rome, where he lived for twenty-two years while studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Accademia San Giacomo, that his distinct aesthetic voice took root. Returning permanently to Lebanon in 1987, Madi brought back a deeply refined synthesis of Western modernism and Eastern heritage. At the heart of Madi’s masterworks is a joyful, relentless experiment in colour and form. His body of work establishes an intuitive dialogue with European modernists like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, echoing their bold contours, expressive shapes, and flattened perspectives. Yet, this European sensibility is seamlessly woven with the principles of divine harmony, geometric structure, and rhythmic repetition that underpin abstract Islamic art. The result is an intensely personal fusion, one that confronts the viewer with a presence both arresting in its immediacy and subtle in its spiritual depth. Madi’s creative process balanced profound precision with vibrant sensuality. While his fluid lines appear to sing with spontaneous freedom, they are anchored by meticulous planning and exacting mathematical calculations invested in every stroke, curve, and sculpture. Whether working as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, or designer, he brought a craftsman's rigour to every medium he touched. From his first major showcase in 1965 until his death, Madi presented more than fifty solo exhibitions across Lebanon and around the globe. These showcases cemented his reputation as one of the region's most prolific and transformative modern masters, an artist whose legacy continues to resonate through the timeless harmony of his line and form.