FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Xanadu* is proud to present three concurrent solo presentations Creation by Rana Bishara, Natural Light by Amer Maleh, playrights Noura Erakat & Juan Berumem's Visiting Plaestine.

Creation is a body of work that rejoices in the tremendous struggle that artists face in portraying hopes in a time of war and conflict. Artist Rana Bishara, more famously known for her works in The Made in Palestine exhibit, screenprints hyper-sensitive photo images that have been documented from the Palestinian conflict with the world’s sweetest substance: chocolate. Amer Maleh, best known for his work as an industrial light designer throughout Europe and America, has created a running theory based on light as an atmosphere enhancer and perhaps a cure to so much of our melancholy. Both of these artists seem to come together through this exhibit and insist that we focus on the fact that nature will take its course, with or without our approval. Perhaps we do have a trail to blaze, difficult as it may seem, but with dreamers on our side, promises of a peaceful time may be closer at hand than it seems.

The evening kicked off with a bang opening night as people crowded into this tiny gallery in Greenwich village. Activists, poets, art aficionados, fundraisers, lecturers and neighborhood regulars all rubbed shoulders while admiring the graciousness and talent of Rana and Amer. Wine and conversation were in free flow. Debates about politics, religion, and greater humanity dominated discussions. People of different opinions were willing to hear each other and got the chance to make friends from presumed enemies.

This was about art, not politics, but not unlike any other event where Palestinians gather, it can quickly turn to such. Ms. Bishara captured it the best when she said “as an artist, I feel a moral responsibility and necessity to reveal and report the truth through my own personal story”. Perhaps story by story, individual by individual, we can find the truth and art can mediate our broken bridges.

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about the artist: Rana Bishara was born in Tarsheha in the Galilee in 1971. She finished her BA in Fine Arts and Women's studies from Haifa University in 1994. Her work has been on display in group and solo exhibitions in many cities inside and outside of Palestine. Despite her young age, she is considered one of the most promising artists in the Palestinian art scene. Bishara uses traditional media, like dried Cactus leaves, different spices and plants that she uses to invoke smells of places and times.

about the artist: Amer Maleh is known for his work as an industrial light designer throughout Europe and America. He has created a running theory based on light as an atmosphere enhancer and a cure to melancholy.

about the curator: Born and raised in New York, Lynn del Sol currently lives and works in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In late 2003 she left the commercial art world and set to create a vehicle for expletory artists to exhibit their works to the public by founding {CTS} creative thriftshop, a young art company that represents international emerging and under-represented artists.

about the curator: Zena el Khalil born 1976 in London, has lived in Nigeria, London, New York, and Beirut. Zena is an installation artist, a painter, and writer and holds a MFA degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. el Khalil has been involved in a love/hate relationship with Beirut for the past decade- clearly evident in her work. el-Khalil is also the co-founder and director of xanadu*.

about the gallery: xanadu* an art space/collective based in Beirut with a small extension in New York city, dedicated to promoting young and/or under-represented artists. xanadu* was born on the number 2 train in New York City in 2001. Zena el Khalil and Imad Khachan felt that within New York City there was an under representation of budding international artists, especially from Arab and Eastern countries.