Born 1986. Studying Fine Arts at the Lebanese University. Rima has exhibited her works at the Ehden and Jounieh Symposiums in 2003, Zahle Symposium in 2004, won the Fabriano 6th prize in 2006, exhibited in the Safana Gallery, Ehden Syposium and the Lebanese University in 2007. Rima sees art as the exploration of the eye, the soul and the hand. From sketching on her math books at school, till her art education at the Lebanese University, Rima sees a endless multitude of directions to be discovered in art. She is mostly interested in mixed media and collages: “I believe we need a little bit of everything in order to establish an interesting ‘atmosphere of being'”.
Interview:
LR: Hi Rima
RC: Hi
LR: You know, all year long I have been asking artists about their favorite color. I find myself attracted to different colors at different phases in my life, and color plays an essential role in art, and in my work personally. So, what is your favorite color?
RC: This is a hard question ,it’s like asking a parent who is your favorite child, and I ‘ll tell u every color in the crayon box is my best, also the colors in between. The thing is, what color do I feel now, What’s the color of my mood, and like u said, we want different colors in different times. Now ,I’m feeling White ,it represents a pretty calm phase in my life.
LR: You work in oils as well as in other mixed media. Is there a certain preference, or does these 2 approaches towards art define and address different things?
RC: They r different beings, they simply have a different feeling.
LR: What influences your art work?
RC: Experiences in my own life influenced my art. Living in Lebanon itself is an unreal challenge every single day.
LR: In my own opinion, creating art out of mixed media conveys different meaning on many different levels. How do you describe your work in mixed media?
RC: My work in mixed media comes basically from my belief that art is freedom .There’s no limit or any kind of restriction that can stand in the face of creativity. Its very enjoyable to make incompatible elements coexist in an interesting state of harmony .I believe we need a little bit of everything in order to establish a interesting” atmosphere of being”.
LR: I myself am from the south of Lebanon, and I always find myself very sensitive to any information or event that pertains to that geographical area. It is my genius loci, and somehow it always manages to infiltrate my artwork. How does being from the south affect your work?
RC: Every art is involuntarily affected by its environment. and so is my art work, it’s my own little revolution against all the injustice happening around. However, it doesn’t represent a real illustration of a specific place and time .It stands for the emotional results the events had on me personally.
LR: You situate your work in the niche of Neo-Expressionism. I can see something of Basquiat in your work, or even Hockney. not so much of Munch for example.
RC: Well, in my art ,You can see exaggeration in the colors, emotional distortions, and energetic movements. However ,Basquiat’s art and life influence me more than Edward Munch’s or even more than David Hockney’s. Mostly, I’m attracted to the freedom of his artwork,you can sense a natural unplanned brush strokes in my work.
LR: What are you currently working on?
RC: Anything that comes to mind, spirit and hands!
LR: You are an art student at the Lebanese University, and eventually you will be working in Lebanon (or not, in this time and age). What are your thoughts about the opportunities to artists in Lebanon, and where do you think you could develop from that point on?
RC: Slow as it is, art is developing in Lebanon . I think we are more challenged than all the artists of the world to some extent art is not just a luxury, because of the political and economical state. However, art is a universal language, and it can be expanded throughout the world for those lucky enough.
LR: It was a pleasure Rima. We’ll keep our news section updated with your newest
RC: Thank you very much.
Contact Information:
Rima’s address on the web is:
http://rimachahrour.blogspot.com
Rima’s email:
rimazation[[at]]hotmail[[dotcom
rima[[dot]]chahrour[[at]]yahoo[[dot]]com
Phone: 96170857874, 961452266
Fax: 961453366