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Artists
Artists Represented by The October Gallery
Anatsui, El
Burroughs, William S
Cohen, Ira
Foley, Fiona
Friedlander, Paul
Glover, Ablade
Gutsa, Tapfuma
Gysin, Brion
Hazoumé, Romuald
Jegede, E. Taiwo
Koraïchi, Rachid
Lalouschek, Elisabeth
Massoudy, Hassan
Lamothe, Frantz
Namok, Rosella
Rimondi, Francesco

Shawa, Laila

Sinzogan, Julien
Owusu-Ankomah
Wijdan
Williams, Aubrey
Xu, Zhongmin
Yoshida, Kenji
Zulu, Sandile

Laila Shawa
( Palestine )

No Title by Laila Shawa
No Title
Brought Forward: Carried Forward in the Name of God by Laila Shawa
Brought Forward: Carried Forward in the Name of God
Clash by Laila Shawa
Clash
Letter to a Mother by Laila Shawa
Letter to a Mother


Laila Shawa

Born in Gaza in 1940, Laila Shawa graduated summa cum laude in Fine Arts from the Italian Accademia di Belle Arti in 1964 and received a diploma in plastic arts from the Accademia San Giacomo in Rome. From 1965 to 1967 she returned to Gaza to teach arts and crafts to underprivileged children. She now lives and works in London. As a Palestinian artist, Shawa is concerned to reflect the political realities of her country, becoming, in the process, a chronicler of events. Her work is based on a heightened sense of realism and targets injustice and persecution wherever their roots may be. The initial impetus for a piece often comes from her own photographs, which are later transformed by means of silkscreen printing techniques. The written word is often present in her work, as in the acclaimed 'Walls of Gaza' series (1994), which focused on the heart-rending messages of hope and resistance spray-painted, in defiance of Israeli censorship, by the ordinary people of Gaza upon the walls of their city. Her work has been exhibited in Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK, in most Arab countries, North Africa, Iraq, Russia, China, Japan, Malaysia and USA. She is represented in public and private collections across the world, including the National Galleries of Jordan and Malaysia, and the British Museum in London.

Selected Solo Shows
1965  Morna House, Gaza, Palestine
1968  The Book Centre Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
1970  Hotel Vend6me, Beirut Lebanon
1971  Dar Tunis, Beirut Lebanon
1972  Sulton Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait
1975  L' Antiquaire Gallery, Beirut Lebanon
1976  Sulton Gallery, Kuwait City. Kuwait
1990  The National Art Gallery, Amman, Jordan
1992  The Gallery, London, UK

Selected Mixed Shows
1987  Arab Women Artists in the UK,
  Kufa Gallery, London, UK
1988  Baghdad Biennial. Saddam Centre, Baghdad, Iraq
1989  Contemporary Art from the Islamic World, Barbican Centre, London
1990  The Malaysian Experience, Notional Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1992  Three Artists from Gaza, The Shoman Foundation, Ammon, Jordon
1993  SAGA Solon de l'Estampe et de l'Edition d' Art 6 Tirage Limite, Grand Polo is, Paris
1994  Forces of Change: Artists of the Arab World, The Notional Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA
  Laila Shawa: The Walls of Gaza and Wijdan: Calligraphic Absractions, The October Gallery, London, UK

Public Collections
The Arab Bank Limited, Ammon, Jordon
The British Museum, 20th Century Collection
The Kuwait Fund, Kuwait
The Notional Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Notional Art Gallery, Amman, Jordon
The Palestinian Union of Artists
The Shoman Foundation, Jordon

Private Collections
Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordon, Kuwait
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, UK and USA.

Book References
Khal, Helen. The Woman Artist in Lebanon, Catholic Press, Lebanon, 1987,
Ali, Wijdan. Contemporary Art from the Islamic World, Scorpion Books, London, UK, 1988,
Shammout, Ismail. Art in Palestine, AI Qabbas Press, Kuwait 1989,
Laila Shawa, Works 1965- 1994 AI-Hani Books, 1994.
Forces of Change, Artists of the Arab World, Washington D.C., USA, 1994,
    

 
 
 

 

October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AL
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Director - Chili Hawes; Artistic Director - Elisabeth Lalouschek; Special Projects - Gerard Houghton;
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The Gallery is closed during official holidays and for the entire month of August.

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