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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Etel Adnan: Discovery of the Immediate

Jan 6 – Feb 19, 2022
528 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001, United States

When the Lebanese-American philosopher, poet, and artist Etel Adnan died last November, at 96, the art world mourned. In New York, her distilled yet vibrant landscapes are up at the Guggenheim, enjoying a retrospective that closes on January 10. Adnan used simple shapes to create images that float buoyantly between landscape and abstraction. Though she often applied her oils on canvas with a knife, resulting in crisp, bright lines, the works in Galerie LeLong’s “Discovery of the Immediate” were made with a paintbrush and use very little color to capture flowers, fruits, inkwells, and flasks. These paintings are part of Adnan’s last series. —E.C.

Etel Adnan, “Découverte de l’Immédiat 39,” 2021 © Estate of Etel Adnan Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.