Simone Fattal

War, flight, trauma and loss of identity are themes which Simone Fattal (*1942 in Damascus) explores in her ceramic sculptures, collages and books. Damascus, Beirut, Paris and San Francisco are the places which have shaped her nomadic biography. In acknowledgement of her influence as an artist and publisher, the exhibition hall Portikus at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main will present Germany’s first major solo exhibition of Simone Fattal’s multifaceted artistic work.

In her collages of personal items and memorabilia from her private archive, Simone Fattal creates links between chapters of Arabic history with modern contemporary impressions. Her collages consist of disparate pieces that allude to the fractious nature of identities shaped by migration. Her rather abstract ceramic sculptures refer to ancient legends and archaeological finds. The rather strange-looking clay bodies, which she entitled “Warriors”, represent the loss of Mediterranean civilisation in the Middle East and a lost, war-scarred generation.

The Lebanese civil war drove Simone Fattal and her life partner, the well-known artist Etel Adnan, to emigrate to California. There she established the Post-Apollo Press which publishes occasionally translated poetic and experimental texts from the Middle East, Europe and America. The books exhibited at Portikus highlight the importance of the publishing house as a forum for European, Arabic and American authors, such as Etel Adnan, Marguerite Duras, Fanny Howe, Elfriede Jelinek and Jalal Toufic. Selected audio clips of contemporary authors provide modern perspectives on the historical references. An extensive publication on the exhibition includes essays by some of the artist’s close companions and contemporary queer voices from the Middle East. Admission to the Portikus is free, and students of the Städelschule will offer tours of the exhibition to visitors.

Curators: Carina Bukuts, Liberty Adrien
Artists: Simone Fattal

Reading room participants: Jalal Toufic, Ala Younis and others

Exhibition: Portikus, Frankfurt am Main: 24 Jun. – 24 Sep. 2023