Juliana SERAPHIM Palestinian-Lebanese, 1934-2005
Flower Woman (Femme fleur), 1988
Watercolour on paper
35 x 19 cm | 14 x 7 1/2 in
Framed: 52. 8 x 35.2 x 4 cm| 20 1/2 x 14 x 1 1/2 in
Framed: 52. 8 x 35.2 x 4 cm| 20 1/2 x 14 x 1 1/2 in
The Femme-Fleur series occupies a central place in Juliana Seraphim's work, both in terms of the plastic maturity it displays and the symbolic density of its subject matter. Developed at...
The Femme-Fleur series occupies a central place in Juliana Seraphim's work, both in terms of the plastic maturity it displays and the symbolic density of its subject matter. Developed at the crossroads of Surrealism, Symbolism and Expressionism, this series is a meditation on feminine identity and metamorphosis as a creative act. The female figures that populate these compositions emerge from an organic space, where branching black line and chromatic transparency evoke both the fragility of flesh and the vitality of sap. The fusion of body and flower is not a decorative motif, but a metaphorical language: woman becomes the matrix of the world, both source of life and space for renewal. This hybridization reflects a vision of the feminine in constant transformation, freed from social and moral constraints. Seraphim's artistic approach reveals a tension between academic rigor and intuitive freedom. Linear structures recall the discipline of classical drawing, while glazes of color and successive transparencies evoke the dissolution of form in light. This dialectic between the controlled and the fluid places Femme-Fleur in a quest for balance between rationality and mystery - a recurring theme in the artist's work. Seraphim's discourse on women, often explicated in his writings and interviews, is rooted in a profoundly introspective perspective. The artist does not seek to represent a feminine ideal, but to project a multiple subjectivity, born of the experience of exile, memory and desire. In this sense, Femme-Fleur stands as an allegory of resilience and vital continuity: each flower becomes a symbolic self-portrait, each woman a form of rebirth. Through this series, Juliana Seraphim reinvents the female figure not as an object of the gaze, but as an autonomous, creative entity. Through the coherence of her visual syntax and the depth of her themes, her work contributes to the affirmation of a feminine plastic language within Arab modernity, combining intimate sensitivity with a universal scope.
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