For Liane Mathes Rabbath – Luxembourgish by birth but Lebanese at heart for over twenty years now – art and creation have no secrets. “To offer others and herself pure moments of pleasure through each of her creations,” are the leitmotifs of this artist who has found in art a mode of expression which perfectly suits her sensitivity towards others.
Starting as a self-taught artist, she later develops her technique as well as her creative vision in the workshops of great painters such as Paul Guiragossian and Tania Bakalian Saffieddine (Tanbak). The latter has inspired and transmitted to her the mastery and perfection of collage, a technique which Liane Mathes Rabbath will continue to refine.
She consequently decides to extend her knowledge by taking up studies at university where she receives a degree in Fine Arts from LAU (Lebanese American University).
Thereafter, she ventures into her newly discovered passion and incorporates Damas paper (“papier de Damas”) into her work. Rich in patterns and arabesque calligraphies, this renowned paper is originally used to hand roll cigarettes, but from then on figures as the essence of her work. Now rolled, then glued, Mathes Rabbath shapes these papers according to her inspiration.
By the touch of her fingers guided by her inspiration, pages of a book are taking the shape of a cedar created for the National Library. She is further inspired by her collages when creating a line of bags, fans, and coasters… Her papers are again used when the artist designs a series of dresses – “symbols of freedom and a desire to live.” Here, she deliberately chooses her materials: sometimes raw and strong such as barbed wire and braided ropes which she shapes with care in order to achieve a contrasting force with the fragility of the feathery paper – light and airy, twirling in a joyful dance.
“When you are creating, freedom of expression knows no boundaries. It is the only place in which you can express yourself and let go, without fear or barriers,” affirms the artist while talking about her work – the work which she has built over time, always with a certain meticulousness in the detail, characterising her so well.
