Beirut, the artistic capital

Beirut’s burgeoning cityscape of cultural and artistic endeavors may have taken a commercial downturn in 2014 compared to previous years. This, however, did not deter the city’s community of gallerists, curators and exhibition sponsors from staging highly ambitious events. Among the many impressive efforts debuting in 2014 were two openings in November with planned durations into 2015: an exposition of works by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto at Beirut Exhibition Center (BEC) in the downtown waterfront district and a show by British artist and art historian John Carswell at the AUB Art Galleries and Collections. The Carswell exhibition is a clear contrarian accent in the fine lure that Lebanon has long exercised over European cultural and artistic minds. According to AUB Art Galleries curator Octavian Esanu, while earlier generations of European artists, captivated by the Mediterranean light, emphasized color in their depictions of Lebanon, Carswell renounced it. The exhibited works were