The series of six paintings by Seta Manoukian coalesces into a painterly constellation rooted in the lived experiences of urban life during the Lebanese Civil War. Between 1975 and 1985, Manoukian depicted the dismantlement of Beirut and its inhabitants’ struggle to survive. Her compositions from this period capture the disorientation of time, space and perspective, summoning an uncanny weightlessness: dense cityscapes, street scenes and domestic interiors are interspersed with anonymous passersby, politicians, friends or family.
Upon emigrating to Los Angeles, Manoukian began her T-Shaped series – two works from which A Man of Culture and The Dream of His Life, both dated 1993, are also presented at the biennial. These works feature a more restrained, introspective palette and reflect on the psychic aftermath of conflict: a state of suspension amidst collective yearning for stability.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Seta Manoukian, or Ani Pema Drolma, (b.1945) is a Lebanese painter of Armenian descent. She was a prominent figure in the burgeoning Beirut art scene of the late 60s. In 1975 the civil war broke out in Lebanon just as Seta began teaching at the Lebanese University in Beirut. In 1985 she moved to Los Angeles, where she continued her work as an artist. In 2000, she joined a Buddhist Theravada Temple in Los Angeles, and in 2005 was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka. After a 10 year hiatus and a full devotion to her Buddhist practice, Seta Manoukian as Ani Pema Drolma returned to painting in 2016. Her solo exhibitions include Dew Drops, Marfa’, Beirut (2024); Seta Manoukian, Tufenkian Fine Arts, Glendale (2019); Vision et Réalité (Vision and Reality), Galerie Elissar, Beirut (1984). Group exhibitions include Traces of Drawings, Nabu Museum, El Heri (2019) and The Road to Peace: Paintings in Times of War, 1975–1991, Beirut Art Center (2009).
EXHIBITED WORKS
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
Then They Go, 1979
Oil on wood
123 × 206 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Bertrand Fattal
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
The Dream of His Life, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
86 × 86 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Saradar Collection
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
A Man of Culture, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
86 × 84 cm
Courtesy of the artist and the Saradar Collection
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
Ras Beirut, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
125.5 × 176.3 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Sami Sawma
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
Les Arcades, 1985
Acrylic on canvas
125 × 175 cm
Courtesy of the artist and the Saradar Collection
Seta Manoukian (b. 1945)
I’ll be Calm, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
162 × 171 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Raseel Hatjian
