Sabhan Adam’s monograph with text by Adonis (Ali Ahmad Said) is laid out in French and English across 60 pages and interspersed with vivid color reproductions of Adam’s paintings – making a crucial contribution to the critical reception of the artist’s work.
This monograph, published by the Parisian imprint Fragments Editions, is the first proper book on Adam’s work. It features nearly 50 paintings, all produced in 2003 and 2004 (which tells you something about how prodigious he is). All carry the anarchic “A” of his signature on raw canvas as well as against red and black grounds. Overall, these works are the more subdued in Adam’s oeuvre, though a few details of his bolder, more colorful work are included. At the back of the book, there is an insightful interview with Diala Gemeyal – who deserves ample credit for getting Adam to talk and for presenting his words in a loose association of statements, unfettered by a question-and-answer format – and a suite of black-and-white photographs by Barbara Davide of Adam at work in his studio.