02 Feb 2015

OPEN RHAPSODY : A Journey into Photography and Video Collections

This exhibition imagined and created by the seasoned Lebanese photography collector Tarek Nahas, was fueled by his desire to share his passion for the art of photography – and his love of collecting it – with a wider public. Many of his fellow Lebanese private collectors accepted his invitation to lend works to the exhibition.

Jean Luc Monterosso, Director of La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and co-founder of Photomed Festival was very enthusiastic about the idea and eager to join the project of “Open Rhapsody” – a journey into photography and video collections.

 “The path of this exhibition resembles a magnificent stroll in the universe of photography and video. The enigmatic selection creates a dreamy dialog among the works regardless of their aesthetical, historical or political context.
Today, Beirut is in full cultural ferment and photography is taking center stage in the artistic life of the city. This exhibition is a result of this evolution; it will hopefully open new horizons in the local art scene.” explains Tarek Nahas.

“Open Rhapsody” presents photographs by acclaimed international artists. Photographer and videographer Roger Moukarzel will conceive the scenography of the exhibition, which will be held in the Beirut Exhibition Center.

“I would love to live with each and every one of the pictures displayed! Every one of them stirs up an emotion and conjures a memory. My aim is to avoid “staged” hangings and let each photo play its own little music. I would like to string together different genres as if composing a rhapsody and present it to the visitor”.

“Open Rhapsody” is an invitation to travel and dream, an ode to poetry and fantasy. It will allow visitors to step into a world of their own, to spend a suspended moment in time in the midst of frenetic Beirut.


PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ziad ANTAR · Nobuyoshi ARAKI · Yto BARRADA · Bernd et Hilla BECHER · Valerie BELIN · Walead BESHTY · Manuel Alvarez BRAVO · Ali CHERRI · Larry CLARK · Gregory CREWDSON · Fouad EL KHOURY · Elger ESSER · Lucas FOGLIA · Cyprien GAILLARD · Nan GOLDIN · Shilpa GUPTA · Mona HATOUM · Candida HOFER · Douglas GORDON · Scarlett Hooft GRAAFLAND · Roni HORN · David LACHAPELLE · Louise LAWLER · Philip Lorca DICORCIA · Steve McCURRY ·Ryan McGINLEY · Abellardo MORELL · Daido MORIAMA · Rabih MROUÉ · Vik MUNIZ · Youssef NABIL · Erwin OLAF · Luis Gonzales PALMA · Alex PRAGER ·Josephine PRIDE ·Walid RAAD · Gerhard RICHTER · Thomas RUFF · Taryn SIMON · Bert STERN · Thomas STRUTH · Hiroshi SUGIMOTO · Miroslav TICHỷ · Wolfgang TILLMANS · Cy TWOMBLY · Akram ZAATARI

VIDEOGRAPHERS
Collection of the MEP
Peter AERSCHMANN · Clorinde Durand · Mihai GRECU · Zhenchen LIU · Cris BIERRENBACH · Roger MOUKARZEL · Miguel Angel RIOS