Country: 
Lebanon
Professions: 
Artist
Author
Designer
Painter
Field(s) of expertise: 
Design
Arts
Painting
Areas of Impact: 
Arts

Personal information

Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui
Painter, Writer and Artist.

Community/Lebanon Impact

Born in Egypt, Lebanese artist Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui attended the American University of Beirut and the University of Arizona, where she studied Fine Arts. Sehnaoui works in a variety of formats ranging from painting, writing, design and sculpture. She has had solo exhibitions in Paris, Dubai, and Beirut. Sehnaoui currently lives and works in Beirut with her husband Marwan, President of the Lebanese Order of Malta and sons Salim and Khalil Sehnaoui.

In the 1970s, Bassili Sehnaoui was in charge of the Graphic Art Department of the Lebanese National Council of Tourism. She also produced designs for stamps, packaging, posters, and book illustrations and created films for the Lebanese public television station. She later learned painting and typography, two disciplines she taught in Lebanese universities.

Her style is influenced by a Middle Eastern cultural heritage as reflected in the flat treatment of colours in both Byzantine icons and Persian miniatures. The treatment of space is very personal and brings a new dimension to a figurative approach by the use of hieroglyphic –like symbols and “windows” that open to reveal an added aspect of the subject treated.

Since the early 1990s, she has produced albums of lithographs based on Phoenician legends and studied porcelain painting, while still working as a designer and illustrator. Bassili Sehnaoui has been exhibiting art since the mid-sixties. Her seemingly naïve paintings most often reference her own surroundings, her country and its cultural heritage. The works suggest a very personal interpretation of space where shapes and line interpenetrate in colourful harmonies.

Social Media

Education

Education: 
  • ​1964 - 1966: Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Painting, Engraving and Graphic Design, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.
  • 1962 - 1964: Fine Arts, American University of Beirut.
  • 1950 - 1962: English Girls College, Alexandria, Egypt.

Major Achievements

Publications (Books, Articles, Reports, etc.): 

Selected Books:

  • 1982: Libano Text: Fulvio Roiter. Map illustration: Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui. Ed. Magnus Edizioni spa 1982.
  • 1999: Histoires et Mythes Illustre du Liban D'Antan Text: Nina Jidejian. Illustrations: Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui. Ed. Dar An Nahar 1999.
  • 2001: Professions & Callings Text: Fifi Abou Dib. Paintings: Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui. Ed. Dar An Nahar 2001.
  • 2008: The Fifth Day Text: Joseph Tarrab, Concept and Paintings: Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui, Ed. Dar An Nahar 2008.
  • 2011: Berytus The School of Law, Text: Nina Jidejian. Illustrations: Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui. Ed.Dar An Nahar 2011.
Exhibitions, lectures & performances: 
  • 1971: J.F. Kennedy Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1980: Epreuve D’Artiste Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1987: Epreuve D’Artiste Gallery, Kasliq, Lebanon.
  • 1990: Nicole Belier Gallery, Paris, France.
  • 1991: Le Retro, Epreuve D'Artiste Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1994: A L Turath Al Arabi Gallery, Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
  • 1993: 50 x 70 Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1996: Epreuve D’Artiste Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1998: Paintings: The War Years, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1999: Epreuve D’Artiste Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2001: Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2002: Green Art Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • 2004: Janine Rubeiz Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2007: Galerie M, Paris, France.
  • 2007: Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2011: Salwa Zeidan Gallery, Abu Dhabi.
  • 2012: Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2015: Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 2017: Aida Cherfan Fine Art, Beirut, Lebanon.