
25 NOVEMBER 2023 - 27 JANUARY 2024
‘Noor’ (نور) in Arabic, refers to light, radiance, luminescence. In the Middle East, ‘noor’ can also refer to ‘The Divine Light’ that guides wanderers on their travels. To usher in the festive season, Marie Jose Gallery is thrilled to present Noor, a pluridisciplinary exhibition featuring five artists and designers from Lebanon and the United Kingdom.
As per its ethos, Marie Jose Gallery strives to promote artists from Lebanon, the founder’s home country, and to place those artists in conversation with local talent. Noor proposes to discover three Lebanese artists: Charles Khoury, a seasoned artist known for his acrylics on jute; Sara Chaar, an emerging artist utilising abstraction to express her identity; and Nayla Kai Saroufim, whose whimsical and versatile sculptures pay homage to pop art and street art alike.
With this exhibition, the gallery widens its scope and welcomes design within its walls for the very first time. Alongside the aforementioned trio of artists, visitors are invited to discover two British designers: the prodigious Piers Henry Phillips, whose ‘lucid mirrors’ attract and reflect light in distorted manners, as well as ceramic-extraordinaire Hannah Simpson, whose anthropomorphic lamps beam with life and luminosity.
At the heart of Noor, visitors will find light. Whether it emanates metaphorically from Khoury and Chaar’s bright canvases, is projected physically from Simpson’s lamps, is reflected from Saroufim’s sculptures, or is absorbed by Phillips’ mood-capturing mirrors, light guides the visitor through the exhibition… and well beyond its realm.
Enfant Terrible Exhibitions

SELECTED WORKS

Charles Khoury, untitled, 2023, acrylic on jute, 95 x 155 cm

Charles Khoury, Untitled, 2023, acrylic on jute, 99 x 125 cm

Charles Khoury, Untitled, 2022, acrylic on jute, 125 x 84 cm

Charles Khoury, Untitled, 2022, acrylic on jute, 72 x 127 cm

Charles Khoury, Untitled, 2022, acrylic on jute, 72 x 127 cm

Charles Khoury, Untitled, 2022, acrylic on jute, 101 x 77 cm

Sara Chaar, Amalgamation of forms, 2023, cold wax and oil, 150 x 120 cm

Sara Chaar, Dual Nature, 2023, cold wax and oil, 150 x 120 cm

Hannah Simpson, Wiggle eye monster, stoneware clay with 24Karat gold lustre, 28 H x 22 W x 10 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Petal monster pink and gold, stoneware clay with 24Karat gold lustre, 17 H x 12 W x 11 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Blob monster heart design, stoneware clay, 28 H x 20 W x 18 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Heart Monster red, Stoneware clay, 16 H x 13 W x 8 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Ugh Monster, Stoneware clay with satin glaze, 20 H x 20 W cm

Hannah Simpson, Tough Love Monster, Stoneware clay with glossy blue glaze and 24 karat gold lustre, 21 H x 10 W cm

Hannah Simspon, Long Legs Green, Stoneware clay with a green and pink polkadot pattern and Long legs Blue, Stoneware clay with a two tone blue pattern, 31 H x 10 W cm

Hannah Simpson, Octopus Monster pink and red, Earthenware clay, 20 H, 20 W x 20 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Wiggle eye monster, bubble gum glaze, stoneware glaze, 32 H x 24 W x 10 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Wobbly monster, orange and blue, stoneware clay, 45 H x 34 W x 15 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Petal monster pink, stoneware clay, 16 H x 10 H cm Petal monster yellow, 13 H x 6 W cm

Hannah Simpson, Flow lamp, two tone blue, stoneware clay with mohair lampshade, 67 H x 40 W x 18 D cm



Hannah Simpson, Parhelion, Ombre, stoneware clay with mohair lampshade, 41 H x 37 W x 18 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Tropic lamp, dark green, stoneware clay, 39 H x 39 W x 15 D cm

Hannah Simpson, Wiggle leg lamp, yellow and purple shade, earthware clay with raffia lampshade, 40 H x 25 W x 25 D cm


Nayla Kai Saroufim, HOPEFUL, Steel and resin, 60 H x 30 W cm, Edition 30/55

Nayla Kai Saroufim, Better together, Steel with resin, 65 H x 50 W cm, Edition 7/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, Carry your heart, 2021, Edition 1/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, HOPE, Steel and resin, 65H x 30W cm, Edition 20/55
Nayla Kai Saroufim, MINI HOPE/HOPEFUL, Steel and resin, 30 H x 10 W cm

Nayla Kai Saroufim, IN THE SKY, Steel with resin, 60 x 25cm Edition 22/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, Staring on a cloud, steel and resin, 110 H x 35 W x 20 cm
Nayla Kai Saroufim, BIG BLABLA, Carbon fiber resin, 75 x 43cm, Edition 6/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, MEDIUM BLABLA, Carbon fiber resin, 46 x 30cm, Edition 14/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, Don't tell anyone, steel and resin 35 H x 35 W x 15 cm, Edition 19/35

Nayla Kai Saroufim, OMG SMALL Resin, 35 x 35cm

Piers Henry Phillips, Lucid mirror sculpture, steel, 140 x 100 cm

Piers Henry Phillips, Lucid mirror, steel, 110 x 100 cm


Piers Henry Phillips, Lucid mirror, Blue pigment steel, 110 x 100 cm

Piers Henry Phillips, brass lucid sculpture, 95 x 150 cm
Any of the works speak to you?
Contact us for more information about the pieces and the artist