Lebanese Artist Featured in Park National Bank Art Gallery on Campus in Celebration of International Education Week

Lebanese artist Nabil el Jaouhari has only been in Cincinnati a short time, but since his arrival, he’s created a body of work that continues his visual investigation into the power of memory. Through a variety of media and approaches, he reconsiders the fixed impressions from a childhood marked by conflict. Born in 1976, he grew up in Aramoun, a village about 20 miles south of Beirut, the place where he witnessed his country engulfed in civil war.

“Memory Pacifier” is the title of el Jaouhari’s solo exhibition at the UC Clermont College Gallery, where he’s the visiting artist for UC’s annual International Education Week. The exhibition is on display and runs through Dec. 14. el Jaouhari will give an artist talk, followed by a reception and workshop, Nov. 15.

Before coming to the United States for graduate school, el Jaouhari attended art school in Lebanon, where the broad curriculum followed what he describes as a traditional French model. The rigorous training included stained glass, mosaic, printmaking, weaving, ceramics and painting.  In his current practice he tends to turn to mixed media he identifies as personal: wallpaper, glitter, stamps, olive oil, torn pieces of old drawings and paintings. Dismantling older work to reinvent the remnants into new visual configurations is an integral part of his practice, and he has recently introduced a wood-burning tool into the mix.  “It’s always the memory. Memory never leaves. For me, it finds itself through this repetitive form,” said el Jaouhari.

International Education Week (IEW)

is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

The community is welcome to attend this free event.

Tuesday, November 15
11-11:50 a.m. - Artist Talk, Snyder room 142
12-1 p.m. - Opening Reception, art gallery, Snyder Room 140
1:20-4:10 p.m. - Artist Workshop, art lab, Snyder room 154

Nabil el Jaouhari will conduct a painting workshop with the students of Fundamentals of Painting, exploring the use of pattern and other motifs found in art forms of Lebanon. Additional space is available and open to the public, but on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information and to reserve a seat, email Associate Professor Kim Taylor: kim.taylor@uc.edu

The Park National Bank Art Gallery is located in the Snyder building on the UC Clermont College campus in Batavia at 4200 Clermont College Drive.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The gallery is closed weekends.

For more information about the Community Arts at UC Clermont College visit:

http://www.ucclermont.edu/community/arts/park_gallery.html

About us:

UC Clermont College is located in the center of Clermont County on 91 beautiful wooded acres in Batavia Township.  The college is an accredited, open-access college offering more than 50 programs, associate degrees and a bachelor degree. UC East, a Clermont County expansion in the former Ford plant in Batavia Township, opened in the fall of 2010. It is home to UC Clermont's Allied Health programs. The college is part of the nationally recognized University of Cincinnati. For more information, call 513-732-5319 or visit www.ucclermont.edu