Samir Ghanem est un artiste professionnel qui a très bien réussi et jouit d’une réputation internationale. Il travaille à partir de son studio à Ottawa. Sa carrière, comme un des principaux interprètes de l’art visuel canadien contemporain, s’étend sur trois décennies. Il a émigré de son pays natal, le Liban, en 1975 et s’est dès lors consacré à l’interprétation, à l’huile et à l’aquarelle, du paysage naturel du Canada et de la dimension humaine dans la nature. Ses œuvres sont exposées principalement dans des collections privées et institutionnelles dans quatre continents.

Samir Ghanem était le propriétaire et gérant de la plus grande galerie de la capitale de 1980 à 1985. Les expositions d’art canadien et international de la galerie comprenaient une exposition collective montrant les œuvres de plus de 80 artistes irakiens internationaux, la première exposition canadienne des gravures de bois de la Divine Comédie de Salvador Dali, des estampes Magreet, des estampes de Picasso en édition limitée, des sculptures Jacques Besner, et les œuvres d’artistes autochtones canadiens Chichi, Wayne Yerxa, Daphney Odjig et Norval Morrisseau parmi beaucoup d’autres. Cependant, au fil du temps, les demandes croissantes de la galerie sont devenues un drain sur le travail artistique de Ghanem et en conséquence, en 1986, il a décidé d’abandonner la galerie et de concentrer toutes ses énergies sur la peinture.

Au cours de sa carrière, qui a débuté en 1977, Ghanem a produit plus de deux mille peintures, toutes documentées et cataloguées. De ces peintures, 1408 ont été vendues à des clients soit directement ou par le biais de galeries qui couvrent tout le pays. Les productions restantes, ainsi que sa vaste bibliothèque, qui présente des milliers de livres d’art et magazines, sont logées dans son studio à Ottawa. Le studio de Ghanem, qui est l’un des plus grands de la région, est ouvert en permanence au public et est un élément central de la communauté des arts visuels dans la ville.

L’impact et le grand intérêt dans le travail de Ghanem ont même conduit à un intérêt commercial, Captial Vision Art Management, à investir 600 000 $ dans la reproduction de 72 images de ses peintures. En 1998, 14.700 estampes de ses œuvres ont été reproduites en édition limitée.

L’impressionnisme de Ghanem est unique et puissant. Il a fait progresser la représentation du paysage au-delà de la beauté champêtre jusqu’au domaine du dialogue dramatique. Les scènes qu’il compose sont basées sur l’observation personnelle et ne peuvent être explicitement familières au spectateur. Malgré cela, il y a souvent un élément cognitif qui sollicite une implication intime avec la toile, un peu à la manière de l’impact émotionnel que procurent les grandes œuvres musicales. Ghanem décrit / qualifie un grand nombre de ses œuvres de : “Peintures fortes”. Et pourtant l’imagerie qu’il crée prouve souvent que la nature, comme l’artiste, tend vers l’humour subtil et la grâce champêtre. De ses coups de pinceaux, une étonnante beauté et sérénité peuvent émerger du conflit de la nature.

Le style artistique de Samir Ghanem est un exemple de “thème et variations”. Le thème récurrent est celui de l’authenticité sur un axe impressionniste idéaliste. Les variations se manifestent dans son traitement des sujets choisis avec soin. Même si Ghanem utilise une variété de techniques, toute sa production présente quatre caractéristiques cohérentes : couleur, lumière, profondeur et mouvement. La richesse des couleurs naturelles est accentuée mais sans qu’il y ait distorsion. La lumière saisonnière au Canada a été une source de fascination pour l’artiste et il représente méticuleusement ses effets par la qualité de la réflexion et de l’ombre. La profondeur de champ est présente de façon remarquablement réaliste. Ghanem est également le maître de la saisie du mouvement dans la nature telle la force du vent et celle des eaux tumultueuses.
Samir Ghanem and the Symbiosis of Harmony & Invention

Antonio Vivaldi coined the phrase, “Trial between harmony and Invention,” as the title for a set of twelve concerti which included The Four Seasons, one of the most durable compositions in the history of music. By it, Vivaldi meant to convey the essence of the struggle to impose originality on traditional form. The same idea of creative duality can be found in the visual art of Samir Ghanem.

Harmony: The natural order imposes harmony. Terrain, water courses and flora are as nature made them; and it often made them beautiful. Throughout the year, Samir Ghanem is active in seeking hidden glades, secret channels and awe-inspiring expanses as subjects for his paintings. He records the details and takes away an indelible memory of the natural light at that time and at that place.

Invention: Every completed canvas is an authentic impression of a specific living scene. Originality obtains in the arrangement of details in the artist’s composition. Some objects, vegetation and colours receive emphasis. Intrusive shapes, such as an urban skyline, may be excluded. But ultimate truth is always in the light and shade which are the unflinching arbiters of Ghanem’s alchemy.

Within the Frame: Samir Ghanem creates symphonies for the eyes. From miniature to massive in scale, there is a wholeness in every work which parallels musical sonata form and induces similarly emotional reactions. It is a mundane point, but such reactions owe much to Ghanem’s technique including his lavish generosity with oil paint in the creative process. Although he frequently presents dramatic themes, his paintings never betray the stress of generation. Samir Ghanem is the exemplar of the symbiosis of harmony and invention. The framed results always seem as naturally effortless as the forests, fields and steams which inspired them.

Samir Ghanem is a successful professional artist of international standing who maintains a studio in the City of Ottawa. His career as a leading exponent of contemporary Canadian visual art spans three decades. Since emigrating from his native Lebanon in 1975, Ghanem has dedicated himself to the interpretation in oils and watercolours of the natural landscape of Canada and also the human dimension in nature. His works are prominently displayed in private and institutional collections on four continents.

Samir Ghanem owned and managed the largest gallery in the capital city from 1980 to 1985. The gallery’s exhibitions of Canadian and international art included a group showing of the works of over 80 international Iraqi artists, the first Canadian showing of Salvador Dali wood etchings of the Divine Comedy, Magreet prints, Picasso limited edition prints, Jacques Besner sculptures, and the works of Native Canadian artists Chichi, Wayne Yerxa, Daphney Odjig and Norval Morrisseau among many others. However, over time, the growing demands of the gallery business became a drain on Ghanem’s artistic work and as a result in 1986, he decided to abandon the gallery and focus all his energies on painting.

Over his career, which began in 1977, Ghanem has produced over two thousand paintings, all documented and catalogued. Out of these paintings, 1,408 have been sold to patrons both directly and through galleries that spans the country. The remaining productions, alongside his extensive library that showcases thousands of art books and magazines are housed in his Ottawa studio. Ghanem’s studio, which is one of the biggest in the region, is permanently open to the public and is a central feature of the visual arts community in the city.

The impact and wide interest in Ghanem’s work even led a commercial interest, Captial Vision Art Management, to invest $600,000 in the reproduction of 72 images of his paintings. By 1998, 14,700 limited edition prints of his works had been reproduced.

Ghanem’s impressionism is unique and powerful. He has advanced the depiction of landscape beyond the benign parameters of pastoral beauty into the realm of dramatic dialogue. The scenes which he composes are based on personal observation and cannot be explicitly familiar to the viewer. Even so, there is often a cognitive element, not unlike the penetrative emotional impact of great works of music, to solicit intimate involvement with the canvas. Ghanem describes many of his works as, “Strong paintings.” Yet the imagery he creates often proves that nature, like the artist, is inclined toward subtle humour and bucolic grace. Through his brush strokes, astonishing beauty and serenity can emerge from the conflict of nature.

The artistic style of Samir Ghanem is an example of ‘theme and variations’. The constant theme is that of authenticity on an idealistic impressionistic axis. Variations occur in his treatment of carefully chosen subjects. Although Ghanem employs a range of techniques, his entire output displays four consistent characteristics: colour, light, depth and kinesis. The richness of natural colour is accentuated but never distorted. Seasonal light in Canada has been a source of fascination for the artist and he is meticulous in representing its effect on the quality of shadow and reflection. Depth of perspective is present to a remarkably lifelike degree. Ghanem is also the master of capturing movement in nature such as the force of the wind and rushing waters.

Ghanem has produced over two thousand paintings, all documented and catalogued. Out of these paintings, 1,408 have been sold to patrons both directly and through galleries that spans the country. Ghanem's impressionism is unique and powerful