Studio visit with Lebanese artist Reem Bassous

Poised and with a sense of introspective elegance, Lebanese-born artist Reem Bassous warmly greets me in her studio, located on the third floor of the slightly scruffy art department at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, where she also teaches. In her studio, a slightly narrow and rectangular-shaped office space, a variety of small canvases depicting melancholic, empty buildings hang from the wall next to her desk. Nearby, larger, collage-like paintings made from a range of mediums are stacked against each other. Though each one is distinctive from the next, their layered surfaces adorned with bullet-like burns unify them to resemble a series. Shelved on two humble bookcases are an array of exhibition catalogues, books, paints and tchotchkes that give an insight into Bassous’ interests and personality—including her surprising affinity for robots.

• USA
• Lebanon