Manaf Halbouni - OSTWIND

Memories from the civil war in Syria intersperse the works of art by Manaf Halbouni, who now lives predominantly in Dresden. Migration, freedom, and democracy are other themes that resonate in his works. Born in Damascus in 1984 to a German mother and a Syrian father, the conscientious objector had to leave Syria after his refusal to serve in the army. Halbouni's creative processes in sculpture, drawing, and video reflect his experience of life between the Arab world and Europe.  

The artist has attracted particular attention in 2017 with his project Monument: three vertically upended buses positioned first in front of Dresden's and then in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. After Manaf Halbouni's participation in numerous exhibitions, Kunsthalle St. Annen is dedicating the first museal solo exhibition to him. 

Developed specifically for Lübeck's museum of art after 1945 up to the present, the show includes a number of different groups of Halbouni's work aside pieces from the collection of the Kunsthalle selected by the artist. Abstract works, such as by Ernst Wilhelm Nay and Martin Assig, as well as self-portraits by Salvador Dali, Elvira Bach, and Heinrich Vogeler are placed in reference with Halbouni's art.

 

The catalogue documenting the exhibition features texts by Antje-Britt Mählmann and Lotte Laub along with an artist interview conducted by Ann-Kristin Jürgensen with Manaf Halbouni.