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Lebanese Civil War

A luminous caged animal is surrounded by a group of figures. Thorny shapes dominate the sky.

Lebanon, The Cage/The Trial,

1980, 73 in x 87 in, Oil on canvas

Kanso’s long running series that transformed his style and inspired him to translate the horrors of war on to canvas and to carry the message of those who are voiceless through his work to advocate for peace. Kanso began the series in 1975 and continued to paint on the subject of the Lebanese Civil War through the early 1990s.

 

Kanso traveled to Lebanon numerous times for his work on the series, where much of his family remained throughout the duration of the conflict, and was also inspired by experiences from his childhood and adolescence in Lebanon, as well as the experiences of his family and those close to him.

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