Lebanese artist and designer
Najla El Zein (born 1983) is a Lebanese artist and designer.
Biography
Najla El Zein was born in Beirut in 1983.[ 1] [ 2] She was raised in Paris, where she moved at the age of two.[ 3] She studied interior architecture and product design at the École Camondo school of art in Paris.[ 4]
In 2019 El Zein was commissioned by the Qatar Museums Authority to design Us, Her, Him , a limestone sculpture located in Flag Plaza[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] which was completed in 2022.[ 8] Also in 2019, El Zein staged her first solo show, Transitions, at the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York.[ 9] [ 10] The title of the exhibition and the pieces she created were inspired by her experience of the "emotional and physical transformation" of pregnancy.[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
Following the 2020 Beirut explosion , El Zein produced a series of sculptural pieces titled 6.07 , the name being a reference to the time of the blast. The proceeds from the sale of the pieces were donated to a local NGO called Beb w’ Shebbek.[ 14] [ 15]
Her work has been exhibited at and acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum ,[ 3] London, and the Dallas Museum of Art , TX. Her work was also included in the exhibition Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth at Chatsworth House , and The New Transcendence at Friedman Benda Gallery , NY (both curated by Glenn Adamson ).[ 16] [ 17] [ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21]
She has studios in Amsterdam and Beirut.[ 3] [ 16] [ 22] [ 23]
References
^ "Najla El Zein" . www.friedmanbenda.com . Retrieved 9 July 2023 .
^ "Najla El Zein – Biography" . www.mutualart.com . Retrieved 9 July 2023 .
^ a b c Martin, Hannah (2019-02-17). "Lebanese Designer Najla El Zein Tells Her Story With a Sculptural Line of Furnishings" . Architectural Digest . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Najla El Zein – Friedman Benda" . www.friedmanbenda.com . Retrieved 1 July 2023 .
^ "Us, Her, Him by Najla El Zein" . Qatar Museums . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Designer Najla El Zein curates the best of art from MENASA" . yearsofculture.qa . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Qatar-MENASA 2022 Year of Culture celebrates Flag Plaza with Najla El-Zein's new public art" . Qatar Tribune . 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-06-25 .
^ "Public Art in Qatar: Us, Her, Him (2022) by Najla El Zein" . www.youtube.com . Retrieved 1 July 2023 .
^ "Najla El Zein's "sensual" furniture goes on show in New York" . Dezeen . 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2023-06-26 .
^ "Najla El Zein Personal Journey Finds its Form" . Whitewall . Retrieved 2023-06-25 .
^ Chemaly, Tracy Lynn. "Post-pregnancy contemplation in Najla El Zein's furniture series" . www.domusweb.it . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Sensualità, seduzione, desiderio e gravidanza nelle sculture di Najla El Zei" . ELLE Decor (in Italian). 2019-03-13. Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Najla El Zein: Transition" . TLmagazine . 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2023-06-25 .
^ Shehmir, Ayesha (June 5, 2021). "Product Designer Najla El Zein Pays Tribute To Beirut" . Harper's Bazaar Arabia .
^ Sawaya, Gioia (2020-09-24). "bebeirut architects partners with beb w shebbek to rebuild homes after the beirut blast" . designboom | architecture & design magazine . Retrieved 2023-06-28 .
^ a b "Mirror Mirror: Najla El Zein" . www.chatsworth.org . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ "Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth" . www.chatsworth.org . 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ Bertoli, Rosa (2023-03-17). "Chatsworth House design exhibition explores contemporary design themes in an eclectic setting" . wallpaper.com . Retrieved 2023-03-17 .
^ Madlener, Adrian (2023-03-17). "How Can You Make an English Manor Filled With Old Masters Feel Contemporary? At Chatsworth House, the Answer Is Cutting-Edge Design" . Artnet News . Retrieved 2023-03-19 .
^ Barandy, Kat (13 January 2024). "the new transcendence: friedman benda highlights artists from andrea branzi to samuel ross" . designboom architecture & design magazine . Retrieved 4 March 2024 .
^ "Friedman Benda NY considers design as motifs of ‘The New Transcendence’" . www.stirpad.com . Retrieved 2024-03-04 .
^ Rote, Laura (2021-11-11). "Lebanese Designer Najla El Zein Lets Stone Tell the Story" . Sixtysix Magazine . Retrieved 2023-06-24 .
^ Donoghue, Katy. "Najla El Zein Personal Journey Finds its Form" . Whitewall . Retrieved 2023-06-28 .
External links