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Huguette Caland
986 Photos | 24 Courses | 18 Nominations
Introduction of the Artist Huguette Caland
Huguette Caland El Khoury (19 January 1931 – 23 September 2019) was a renowned Lebanese painter, sculptor, and fashion designer. She gained acclaim for her erotic abstract paintings and body landscapes. Operating from Los Angeles, her artwork was featured in a multitude of exhibitions and museums globally.
Early life
Caland, born into a prominent Lebanese political family in Beirut on January 19, 1931, was the daughter of Bechara El Khoury, who became Lebanon’s first president after independence in 1943 and served for nine years. She departed from her family in Beirut to pursue her artistic aspirations in Paris, driven by a longing to live unrestrained—a theme that defined her. Huguette Caland, the Lebanese artist known for her provocative nature, lived a life of freedom and expressed it through her vibrant color-rich paintings, and passed away on September 23 at her residence in Beirut. She was 88 years old. Brigitte Caland confirmed her mother’s death, stating that she had suffered neurological issues following a fall in 2006, which led to the loss of her painting abilities by 2013.
She married Paul Caland, a French-Lebanese man to whom she had been attracted since the age of 12. Their romance caused discomfort within her family; not only was he French, perceived as a colonizer, but he was also the nephew of one of her father’s political adversaries. After their marriage, when she turned 21, they each pursued relationships with other partners.
At the age of 39 in 1970, Ms. Caland made a bold move. She departed from her husband and their three teenage children to embark on a journey to Paris, seeking self-discovery and an opportunity to develop her artistic talents.
“I wanted to have my own identity,” she told The Los Angeles Times. “In Lebanon, I was the daughter of, wife of, mother of, sister of. It was such a freedom, to wake up all by myself in Paris. I needed to stretch.”
Career
Ms. Caland, as an artist, navigated effortlessly through various mediums such as oils, inks, sculptures, and textiles, oscillating between representational figures, abstractions, and line drawings. Her creations were characterized by their voluptuousness, organic shapes, whimsy, eroticism, and exuberance, often resembling cartoons, yet they predominantly embodied a clear feminist stance.
Perhaps her most renowned creation, “Bribes de Corps” (“Body Parts”), is a series of paintings initiated in the 1970s. These artworks display voluptuous, flesh-like shapes that evoke elements of the female form. Described as “abstract and sensuous” by The National, an English-language newspaper from Abu Dhabi, they are akin to a festivity of life’s fullness.
In 1970, she moved to Paris where she lived and worked as an artist for 17 years. She became a regular guest at the Feraud studio, meeting many artists, including André Masson, Pierre Schaeffer, and Adalberto Mecarelli. In 1979, Caland collaborated with designer Pierre Cardin, creating a line of caftans that were displayed at Espace Cardin. In 1983, Caland met Romanian sculptor George Apostu. From 1983 to 1986, they worked in Paris and in the Limousin, creating many paintings and sculptures during this time.
Caland moved back to Los Angeles in 1987, where she lived and worked.
After moving from one studio to another, in 1997 she finally settled in a studio in Venice where she frequently hosted friends and members of the art community, including Ed Moses, Chris Burden, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and James Hayward.
In 2013 she returned to Beirut to say goodbye to her dying husband and remained there until the end of her life.
Caland’s work was included in the 2021 exhibition Women in Abstraction at the Centre Pompidou.
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