Juliana Seraphim
Juliana Seraphim (Arabic: جوليانا سيرافيم; born 1934 in Jaffa) is a Palestinian artist. Background. Seraphim was born in Jaffa in 1934, and was among the first waves of displaced Palestinian refugees to move to Beirut, Lebanon in 1952. She was 14 when her family fled first to Sidon by boat in 1949. After their move to Beirut, she worked in refugee relief while attending art classes. Education and career. In Beirut, Seraphim developed her personal style and produced her most notable works. She privately studied with Lebanese painter Jean Khalifeh (1923–78) and her first exhibitions took place in  his studio. After studying at the Lebanese Fine Arts Academy and privately with other local contemporary artists, she began to show her work in solo exhibitions and gained recognition within Beirut. In her studies, she was awarded grants to study abroad in Madrid, Florence, and Spain. She then went on to internationally represent Lebanon in three biennials - Alexandria (1962), Paris (1963), and São Paulo (1967). Visual Language. Whereas her Lebanese contemporaries often take on a figurative style in order to demonstrate the central issues of the Palestinian struggle, Seraphim’s visual language is characterized as having complex layers of overlapping  lines and improvisational dream-like imagery. In this way, Seraphim cultivates a shifting reality of infinite depth and creation. Her dream-like imagery also implies the unsteady nature of a long-held memory of a cherished place - and in doing so she transcribes her political concerns regarding her home through the lens of personal and surreal imagery while also encouraging the viewer to actively participate with the imagery presented. When asked, Seraphim cites the source of her surrealist imagery as memories of her childhood. She drew specific inspiration from the faded frescoes of winged beings on the ceiling of her  grandfather's home, and former convent, in Jerusalem. Exhibition History. Below is a selected list of Seraphim's exhibition history. References. Juliana Seraphim - OneFineArt.com