THOSE WERE THE DAYS, Fatima Al Hajj Solo Exhibition

The works emerge from a sustained engagement with landscape, not as depiction, but as a site of recalibration. In a context marked by instability, nature is approached as a constant, a structure that absorbs, contains, and reorders experience.

Rather than constructing narratives of rupture, the paintings operate through a quiet rebalancing of perception. Forms are reduced, atmospheres softened, allowing the image to shift away from tension toward a more measured state. What appears as serenity is not naïve, but constructed, a deliberate positioning against surrounding conditions.

Memory operates as an underlying framework. Fragments of rural life, seasonal cycles, and domestic rituals surface without chronology or hierarchy, forming a reservoir that informs the work without fully revealing itself. These elements are neither illustrative nor nostalgic, but persist as latent structures within the image.

What unfolds is a process of internal navigation, where painting becomes a space of suspension. Not an escape, but a controlled distance, where experience is reorganized and held in a state that resists both excess and collapse.

Due to the onset of COVID-19, the exhibition opened without a public reception.

Detail of a painting by Fatima Al Hajj featuring expressive figures and dense floral textures in vivid color
An impressionist-style painting of a lush garden with colorful flowers and leaves. In the center, a statue of a woman holds a book. To the right, two people are sitting on the grass, engaged in conversation.
A colorful painting depicting children working together in a rustic indoor setting, possibly a farm or garden, with a large mill wheel in the center and a window showing green foliage outside.
An impressionist painting of a riverside scene with vibrant yellow, green, and orange trees surrounding a waterway, with colorful boats and a building in the background.
Impressionist painting of people working in a yellow field, with some women standing and others sitting or kneeling, surrounded by bright yellow foliage.
A colorful painting depicting various human figures in a garden or outdoor setting, with trees, flowers, and a building in the background. Some figures are seated, others are standing, and one appears to be playing a guitar. The scene is lively with
Impressionist painting of people in a park with trees and colorful flowers, including a large yellow tree, a red and white tree, and purple and pink flowers.
Impressionist painting of a coastal city with buildings, trees, and a water body in the foreground, featuring vibrant colors and textured brushstrokes.
Colorful painting of a garden with vibrant flowers in pots, greenery, and a yellow trellis.
An impressionist painting of a boat on a river surrounded by colorful autumn trees with houses in the background.
Painted scene of children gardening among colorful flowers and lush greenery.