Marie Khouri
Marie Khouri | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 18, 1960 |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
Marie Khouri (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian sculptor currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Marie Khouri was born in Cairo, Egypt and raised in Beirut, Lebanon.[2]
After Khouri's father was killed during the Lebanese Civil War, she along with her family fled Lebanon.[3]
They spent time in Spain and Canada before finally settling in Paris, France.[4]
During her time in Paris, Khouri attended sculpture courses at École du Louvre.[5]
Career
[edit]Before starting her career as a sculptor, Khouri worked as a translator and financier in Paris.[6]
Khouri's work has been exhibited mainly in North America and Europe but has also been displayed in other places.
Her first public art installation named Le Banc or The Bench was installed at the Olympic Village Station, an underground station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system in 2009 and was intended to double as a functional seating area. In 2010, shortly after the line opened, it was disfigured by skateboarders performing grinds on it. Khouri repaired it at her own expense.[7]
Le Banc was also installed at the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale.[8]
In 2011, she loaned another public art sculpture to the same station titled Histoire d’O, which was originally her first large sculpture piece created in 2006.[9] In 2013, the sculpture was also displayed at the Presidential Palace in Djibouti City, in 2014 at the Miami Hand Centre in Miami, Florida in the United States and at the Le Soleil Hotel in New York City.
Khouri was named as Western Living Magazine's Industrial Designer of the Year in 2012.[10]
In 2013, Khouri created the artwork DH2, which was displayed at the New World Tower in Hong Kong.
Her work Let's sit and talk which was also her first solo exhibition, was displayed at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada in 2014.[11]
Khouri's work You and I was displayed at the Harmony Arts Festival in 2015 and at the TED event Dream in 2016, both in Vancouver.[12]
In 2017, her work Vessels and Mirrors was installed at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris and her work and Flight of Doves at the British Columbia Children's Hospital. In 2022, the sculpture was stolen from the hospital but was recovered within a few days.[13]
Khouri's solo exhibition, titled Bronze also took place at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver in 2018.[14][15] The same year, her second installation titled Water Fountains was installed at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris.That year, her work Eyes on the Street at Concerpt Properties[16] in Olympic Village in Vancouver was named the 2018 Public Art Winner at The Urban Development Institute (UDI) Awards for Excellence gala.[17]
In 2021, her public art From The Ground Up was displayed at Oxford Properties in Toronto. The same year, Khouri was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite by the President of France for her achievements.[18]
Her exhibition I love was displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2023 paying homage to the calligraphic nature of Arabic in her work.[19] The same year, Khouri received the British Columbia Achievement Applied Art and Design Award of Distinction.[20]
In 2024, her work Unfold was displayed at the Amazon office in Vancouver. The same year her work Lumiere was featured as part of the Splash 2024 Art Collection, which raised money for Arts Umbrella, a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to arts education.[21] Her work from her exhibition I love, was also featured at the Forever is Now event at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt the same year.[22][23]
Khouri's international exhibitions include The Grand Tour at Abbazia di San Gregorio, Colnaghi Gallery x Chahan Minassian at the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy in 2019, the Collective Design Fair at the Chahan Gallery New York City in 2018, at the Pavilion of Art and Design in Paris, and Pavilion of Art and Design in London and others.
Personal life
[edit]She married her husband, Robert Khouri, in 1985. They have two daughters and a son. Khouri lives in Vancouver with her family.
Selected artworks
[edit]- Le Banc at the Canada Line Public Art Program and Vancouver Biennale at the Olympic Village Station in Vancouver, British Columbia (2009).
- Histoire d'O at the Canada Line Public Art Program at the Olympic Village Station in Vancouver, British Columbia (2011).
- Histoire d’O at the Presidential Palace in Djibouti City (2013).
- DH2 at New World Tower in Hong Kong (2013).
- Histoire d’O at the Miami Hand Centre in Miami, Florida (2014).
- You and I at the TED Dream event in Vancouver, British Columbia (2016).
- Vessels and Mirrors at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, France (2017).
- Flight of Doves at the British Columbia Children's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia (2017).
- Histoire d’O at the Le Soleil Hotel in New York City (2018).
- Water Fountains at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, France (2018).
- Eyes on the Street at Concert Properties, Olympic Village in Vancouver, British Columbia (2018).
- From The Ground Up at Oxford Properties Group in Toronto (2021).
- Unfold at Amazon headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia (2024).
Selected exhibitions
[edit]- Let's Sit and Talk at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia (2014).
- Bronze at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia (2018).
- The Collective Design Fair at the Chahan Gallery in New York City (2018).
- The Grand Tour at Abbazia di San Gregorio, Colnaghi Gallery in Venice, Italy (2019).
- Chahan Gallery at The Pavilion of Art and Design in Paris, France (2023)
- NOMAD Capri at the Chahan Gallery in Capri, Italy (2023)
- Chahan Gallery at The Pavilion of Art and Design in London, United Kingdom (2023)
- Forever is Now at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt (2024).
Awards
[edit]- Western Living Magazine's Industrial Designer of the Year (2012)
- Urban Development Institute (UDI) Awards for Excellence winner for her public artwork Eyes on the Street in collaboration with Charlotte Wall (2018).
- Ordre national du Mérite by the President of France (2021).
- British Columbia Achievement Applied Art and Design Award of Distinction (2023).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Marie Khouri:'Some write their history, I tell it through my sculptures". L'Orient–Le Jour. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri I love". Vancouver Art Gallery. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "A healing journey in sculpture by Marie Khouri". CBC News. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri". Chahan. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Lets Sit and Talk-Marie Khouri". Chahan. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri's sculptures form both seats and a message of peace". CBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Sculpture gouged by skateboarders". CBC News. 22 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Histoire d'O". Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Histoire d'O". Canada Line. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri". BC Achievement Foundation. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri's sculptures form both seats and a message of peace". CBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "You and I". ArtRow. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Valuable bronze sculpture stolen from B.C. Children's Hospital". CBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri at Equinox Gallery". Nuvo Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "A healing journey in sculpture by Marie Khouri". CBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Vancouver artists to reveal urbanization-inspired sculpture Eyes on the Street on July 21". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Eyes on the street earns industry recognition at the 2018 UDI Awards". Concert Properties. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Vancouver artist Marie Khouri imbues her modernist sculptures with emotion". Stir. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri–I love". Vancouver Art Gallery. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Artist Marie Khouri receives 2023 Award of Distinction as BC Achievement Foundation announces Applied Art + Design Awards". Stir. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Marie Khouri is turning towards the light". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "Egypt's famed Giza Pyramids transformed into open-air contemporary art museum". Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "An exhibition at the pyramids of Giza invites artists and visitors to become modern-day archaeologists". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 26 June 2025.