Windows

In Windows, Helen Khal returns to figuration, combining her fascination with colour and form with the architectural and symbolic possibilities of the window. Painted in 1986, this painting belongs to a transitional period in Khal's artistic evolution, when her practice moved from the predominantly abstract planes of colour that defined her work in the 1970s and early 1980s practice towards a more figurative approach. Her visual language became increasingly focused on bolder forms, geometric structures and deeper hues. Yet Khal’s movement between abstraction and figuration was never a linear progression; rather, the two remained interconnected strands of her practice. As she explained, “For me, the abstract and figurative directions have been a necessary complement to each other” (H. Lancelin, “Helen Khal or Lebanon in Sky Blue”, in ArtCritic, May 2026). Rather than viewing these approaches as opposites, she understood them as complementary ways of examining form and perception. Her return to figuration in the 1980s was therefore not a retreat from abstraction, but in her own words, a series of “necessary breaths in the movement of thought” before returning to it (H. Lancelin, “Helen Khal or Lebanon in Sky Blue”, in ArtCritic, May 2026).

The transition coincided with Khal’s relocation to Washington, D.C., following the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, where she remained for nearly two decades until the conflict ended. Although she made occasional visits to Lebanon, her prolonged separation from her homeland had a significant impact on her artistic practice. Reflecting on this period, Khal described a sense of creative difficulty and distance from the artistic energy she had experienced in Lebanon, writing, “I can’t seem to break through this block and begin producing as I did in Lebanon” (L. Arafeh, "On Helen Khal: The Transformative Power of Art", Fiker Institute, Dubai 2024). During these years, Khal increasingly turned towards the logic and rationality of geometric abstraction. The controlled compositions, with their emphasis on order and repetition, offered a means of imposing structure and coherence at a time marked by displacement and uncertainty.

In Windows, the architectural framing of the two arched forms, combined with intricate patterns and a palette of blues, reds and muted greens, reflects Khal’s enduring interest in structure, ornament and cultural identity. Raised within American society yet closely connected to her Lebanese heritage, she experienced a persistent tension between assimilation and cultural memory. In 1946, she travelled to Lebanon in search of a stronger sense of identity and belonging, a connection that would remain central to her artistic and personal life. Following her divorce and departure from her homeland, Khal immersed herself in the art world with her own painting becoming increasingly assertive in its engagement with colour, form and place. Within this context, takes on a particular resonance: positioned between interior and exterior; it suggests a space of looking, passage and reflection, while also evoking Khal’s enduring negotiation between different cultural worlds. The window thus becomes not simply an architectural motif, but a metaphorical space through which questions of identity, belonging and place can be considered.

Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1923 to a Lebanese-American family, Khal pursued a multifaceted career as a painter, art critic, and educator. She initially aspired to become a writer. However, her life took a different turn when, at the age of twenty-two, she battled tuberculosis, spending six months bedridden in a sanitorium. During this period, she discovered her passion for drawing and painting, and after recovering from the illness, she joined weekly afternoon classes at the Baum Art School in Allentown. Subsequently, travelling to Lebanon for the first time, Khal embarked on her formal art education. Dedicating herself to the study of painting, she enrolled at the Academie Libanaise Des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in Beirut from 1946 to 1948 to study under the supervision of celebrated Lebanese painter Cesar Gemayel. Khal founded Lebanon’s first art gallery, Gallery One, in 1963, while playing a significant role in the development of Lebanese modern art movements through her teaching at the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University as a part-time painting instructor. In addition to her work as an artist, Khal was an influential critic and writer, notably publishing The Woman Artist in Lebanon (1987). She worked between the United States and Lebanon before permanently settling in Beirut in 1963, where she remained until her death in 2009.

Her work was exhibited extensively in Beirut from the early 1960s and gained increasing international recognition through participation in the Alexandria Biennale and São Paulo Biennales. Her work is held in many prominent collections including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Sursock Museum, Beirut; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; and the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF), Beirut.