Who is Etel Adnan?
Read more about this versatile artist.
To Etel Adnan, colour is language
The bright, powerful colours are the first thing that strikes you when you look at Etel Adnan’s work. Adnan always selected her colours intuitively and applied them to her canvas directly out of the tube.
Adnan uses these colours to convey the power of nature, with which she felt a strong connection. In her own words:
‘It is the power of nature that comes to us through colour’.
But colour meant more to Adnan. She always lived between different languages and cultures. She spoke French, English, Greek and Turkish, and lived in Paris, Beirut and California.
Art was like home to her, something to hold on to; a language that transcends borders and cultures.
‘Colours make visible what the person is trying to say, but silent’.
Etel Adnan, 2016. Courtesy Galerie Lelong. Photo: Fabrice Gibert.
Etel Adnan, 'Untitled', 2010, oil on canvas, Collection Mudam Luxemburg, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean © Photo: Rémi Villaggi / Mudam Luxembourg.
Etel Adnan, 'Untitled', 2015, oil on canvas, Collection Jean Frémon. © The Estate of Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., Paris/New York.