Twenty-four years ago, Mouna Atassi invited acclaimed modern artist Fateh Moudarres alongside legendary poet Adonis for a “hiwar” (dialogue in Arabic) that lasted 4 days at her house. Over these four days, Fateh and Adonis talked at length about life, art and so much more, with plans to eventually compile the conversations into one book. However, several months later, Fateh sadly passed away in Damascus and the hiwar never saw the light of day until 2009, when Atassi Gallery published the dialogue in its original Arabic form, with a limited run of copies given to friends and contacts of the gallery.
Now – twenty-four years since the original meeting – the Atassi Foundation is finally releasing "Fateh-Adonis Hiwar: Sense and Intuition", translated into English by Rula Baalbaki and published by Kaph Books, with accompanying texts by Ambra D’Antone and Golan Haji, in addition to over thirty accompanying paperworks by Moudarres from the Atassi Foundation Collection.
The book “Hiwar Fateh-Adonis: Sense and Intuition” will be launched at New York University’s Abu Dhabi Campus in partnership with the Al Mawrid Arab Centre for the Study of Art and the New York University Institute, on the 23rd of March, with an exclusive conversation with the great poet Adonis, who will shed light on his relationship with Fateh and the relationship between poetry and art, along with Mouna Atassi. The session will be moderated by artist and scholar Ala Younis and will feature rare archival video footage from that monumental dialogue in Damascus.* Further details about this event are available on: https://nyuadi.secure.force.com/Events/NYUEventRegistration?event=GO2apenLW_2BWpBDHhN_2Bfy4w_3D_3D
This will be followed by an intimate classroom reading into Fateh’s work on the 24th of March, also at NYU Abu Dhabi, entitled ‘A Masterclass: Reading the Art and Ethos of Fateh Moudarres’ with papers by Syrian artist Issam Kourbaj, once a student of Fateh’s, and art historian scholars Ambra D’Antone and Anneka Lenssen**. Further details regarding this event are available on: https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/events/2022/march/master-class-reading-the-art-and-ethos-of-fateh-al-moudarres.html
Further details regarding purchasing Fateh-Adonis Hiwar: Sense and Intuition will be available via Les Presses Du Réel: https://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=9451&menu=0 and will soon be available on Amazon.
* This session will be conducted in Arabic with simultaneous translation to English.
** This session will be conducted in English only.
“I was present during the two phases of the hiwar, and mesmerized by the profundity of thought and power of meaning therein. Fateh and Adonis’s hiwar opened the doors wide to an inquiry into the meaning of life and the essence of art, as well as history and the present.”
– Mouna Atassi