Jumana El Husseini was born in 1932 in Jerusalem. Her parents, Jamal El Husseini, and Nimati El Alami; both from prominent Palestinian families. As a child, Jumana was a student at the Ramallah Friends Girls School near Jerusalem. Forced to leave Palestine in 1947, the family settled in Lebanon. Since her early age, El Husseini was art oriented. During the 1950’s she studied painting, ceramics, and sculpture while majoring in political science at the Beirut College for Women and then at the American University of Beirut. She also studied fine arts in Paris and had her first exhibition there in 1965. El-Husseini has since had a number of solo exhibitions in most Arab countries, especially in Jordan, as well as in Japan and Italy, in addition to her native city Jerusalem.

Noted for figurative paintings of Palestinian women and geometric houses in Jerusalem and Jericho, her style evolved from realistic to geometric and, since 1987 to abstract, with wavelike overpainted drawing evoking Arabic calligraphy. Since that year, her work has undergone a major shift: from being figurative and light, to abstract and dark. Her fanciful, stylized scenes of people and cities are now replaced by the reflective images of a search for rebirth. The paintings are constructed of diffused geometrical shapes floating in well-defined spaces. Articulating those shapes are calligraphic areas that shed both physical and spiritual light on this darkness. They are reminiscent of Middle Eastern cities at night. With their shimmering translucency, they become symbols of hope.

The paintings are sober in color. Texture is used to highlight a strong contrast or to subdue a powerful form. The change of Jumana’s art is the transformation from the joy of remembrance to the realization and assessment of a current situation.

Jumana learned the art of sculpture during the 1950´s when she was at the Beirut College for Women. She started on blocks of stone, then on hard rose wood. All her sculptures are created by carving (Hammer and chisel). The stone artwork is often associated with small hand cut mirrors, and the wood with gold leaf layers. Recently, Jumana has worked on small to medium size rocks from the Dead Sea. Using mixed media she transforms each object to a piece of art.

Early on, Jumana took part in exhibitions at the Museum of Sursok in Beirut (1960, 64, 67),the “Open Air Exhibition” of the American University of Beirut (1963), The Bien­Niali events of Alexandria (1969), Kuwait (1973), Baghdad (1974) and Venice (1979), The tourng Exhibition of the Smithsonian Institute of Washington (1971 to 73), and many collective events: in London (1965), Tokyo (1978), Geneva(1979), The Museum of Eastern Art in Moscow (1980), The National Museum in Madrid (1980), The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (1980), London (1985) and Geneva (1986), The Messe Exhibition Center in Vienna, The Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (1988), The Barbican Centre in London (1989) and many others.

In 1991, she studied stained glass art at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris France (School of Fine Arts).

Jumana´s work

Individual Exhibitions

1965 Woodstock Gallery, London – U. K.

1968 German Cultural Center, Beirut – Lebanon German Cultural Center, Tripoli – Lebanon

1970 American University, Beirut – Lebanon

1971 Bonn University, Stuttgart University, Staeaedtische Gallery, Imlanbachhaus, Munchen, Germany

1973 Delta Gallery, Rome – Italy Gallery des Antiquaires, Beirut – Lebanon

1979 Dome of Jeddah, Jeddah – Saudi Arabia

1981 Redec Gallery, Jeddah – Saudi Arabia

1984 Arab Heritage Gallery, Dhahran – Saudi Arabia

1987 Tour Exhibition in the United States

Arab Cultural Center, San Francisco – USA

Santa Theresa Library, San Jose – USA

Association of Arab Diplomats, American University, Washington DC – USA

Dag Hammershold Gallery, N.Y. – USA

Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek – USA

Tour Exhibition in Canada

Victoria College University, Toronto – Canada

Algonquin College, Ottawa – Canada

1989 Soviet Friendship Center, Moscow – Russia

Addison Ripley Gallery, Washington DC – USA

Georgetown University, Washington DC – USA

1990 Gallery Etienne Dinet, Paris – France

1991 Argile Gallery, London, U. K.

Shouman Institute, Amman – Jordan

1993 Anadil Gallery, Jerusalem

2002 Darat Al Funun, Amman – Jordan

Al Maamal Gallery, Jerusalem – Palestine

Kattan Center, Ramallah – Palestine

2004 Galerie Joëlle Mortier Valat, Paris – France

Further readings:

– http://iamfrompalestine.com/

– http://jumanaelhusseini.com

Sources:

-http://jumanaelhusseini.com/

-http://www.palestine-family.net