lock, stock, and after several spectacular rounds of
buying – one Art Basel preview netted 22 major works
by the likes of Kathryn Andrews, Tauba Auerbach and
John Armleder – their status as collectors solidified.
‘Business was good,’ Tony says, referring to his retail
empire. ‘Maybe I was rash, but if we’d bought more
slowly, we’d never have met the kind of artists we did.
I acted fast. I usually do. I’m known for trying to
do these big, crazy projects.’ Like the massive Zaha
Hadid-designed retail and lifestyle complex rising in
Beirut’s souks. Or supporting exhibitions at the New
Museum, MoMA and the Whitney. Or the Foundation.
‘Sometimes, these things wake me up at night.’
Everything that Tony and Elham do is driven by
their conviction that Beirut should be the region’s
cultural hub. Though with less financial muscle than
the neighbouring Gulf petromonarchies currently
pouring their all into art, Lebanon has genuine freedom
of artistic expression, making exhibitions here more
conversation than monologue.
Since the couple first began exhibiting through
the Metropolitan Art Society, a now-defunct precursor
to the Aïshti Foundation, Beirut has transformed.
The city’s preeminent pre-war art museum, the
Sursock, has been revived, while new arrivals such as
the Beirut Art Center and the opening of dozens of
new galleries, as well as events such as the Beirut Art
Fair and Ashkal Alwan’s Home Works art forum,
have added cultural pulling power.
While the Foundation’s collection does take in
contemporary Lebanese art – notably Walid Raad,
Mona Hatoum, Ziad Antar, Rayyane Tabet and Fouad
Elkoury – its focus on (mostly) 21st-century Western
art sets it apart. And raises eyebrows. For Tony Salamé,
the critics miss the point. ‘We wanted a dialogue, to
bring what was happening in New York and Paris here.
Not everyone can afford to get on a plane and see
for themselves. The Foundation is a cultural window,
so everyone can get a taste.’ ∂ aishtifoundation.comIn Residence
148 ∑
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP,
GARY HUME’S FRAGMENT
OF A RAINBOW, 2011, ON
A STAIRCASE TO THE UPPER
FLOORS; ROE ETHRIDGE’S
GISELE ON THE PHONE, 2013;
AND PREVIEW, 1988, BY ALLEN
RUPPERSBERG, BOTH IN THE
LIVING QUARTERS OF THE
SALAMÉS’ DAUGHTER TASHA