By Amal Issa 
While some contemporary art embraces superficial spectacle, Iraqi-Finnish artist Adel Abidin opts for substance in his exhibition “What Remains,” on view at Galerie Tanit in Beirut from September 10 to October 23, 2025. The press release explains that Abidin returns to painting as a way to process personal and collective trauma. The horizon line in each canvas becomes a constant — a dividing point between destruction and renewal.
Key works include:
- “Drift” — a triptych featuring a destroyed vessel; it evokes transitory existence and the fragility of memory.
- “Displaced” — alien-like engines descend into fractured landscapes; Abidin links the dismembered machines to his own experiences of conflict and migration.
- “Metamorphosis” — organic and abstract forms intertwine across charred backgrounds, signifying change and renewal.
- “Aquarium” — an empty tank holds a domestic interior collapsing into ruin, a metaphor for contained catastrophe.
By connecting different forms of loss — war, migration and environmental catastrophe — Abidin resists commodified spectacle and instead offers a critical meditation on what endures after destruction. His paintings reward close study and challenge us to confront the realities behind images of conflict.
Our take: Abidin’s insistence on narrative and emotional depth positions him firmly against the shallow gestures of some contemporary art. His work at Galerie Tanit demonstrates how painting can still serve as a powerful vehicle for moral and political reflection.
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