Patterns are ubiquitous and found everywhere: on obscure streets, windows, doors, in texts, books, data, and white noise. Their current forms reveal shared heritages and migration to uplift difficult conversations.
Doris Bittar 2022
EDUCATION
Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, (1995-96)
University of California, San Diego (Master of Fine Arts 1993)
State University of New York at Purchase (Bachelor of Fine Arts 1981)
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Marchi, Lisa, Interview with Doris Bittar, Mitra, October 2023
Lazzari, Margaret “Migrant Madonna at SoLA,” art and cake, May 10, 2022. review.
CanvasRebel interview, “Meet Doris Bittar,” April 6, 2022.
Frischer, Patricia, “Full Circle but with No Center: Doris Bittar lecture,” SanDiegoVisualArts.net October 2, 2021. review.
Eilat, Galit, “The B-Word: Debating Cultural Boycotts,” Frieze, December 8, 2017. review.
Horne-Gaul, Laura & Lee Gaul, “De-briefing Dar’a/Full Circle,” Tussle Art Magazine, Toronto & NYC, April 3, 2017.
Mohaiemen, Naeem, images Hans Haacke, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Campaign: On Gulf Labor & Western Museums in the Middle East,” Walker Magazine, December 7, 2016.
Lindsey, Ursula, “Standing Up for Migrant Workers in the Gulf, 1 Installation at a Time,” The Nation, November 9, 2015.
Coombs, Gretchen, “At Venice Biennale, Artists Stage a Pageant for Precarious Workers in Abu Dhabi,” Hyperallergic, September 1, 2015.
Batty, Dave, “Art World Protest Over ‘mistreatment’ of Migrants at Abu Dhabi Cultural Hub,” The Guardian Observer, UK, November 2, 2013.
SELECTED AWARDS, GRANTS, AND RESIDENCIES,
2023 California Arts Council Legacy Artist Award
2023 Arab American National Museum residency
2022, 2011, 2007, Puffin Foundation Grant
2020 California Arts Council Arab Amp Collective
2015 Puffin Foundation West
2011 Exhibit and residencies in Berlin and Stuttgart for ifa gallery.
2010 Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean Countries, 2nd Prize, Alexandria, Egypt
2007 Ninapi Gallery Residency, “Soap Story” and “Stripes and Stars,” Ravenna, Italy
1998, 1999 California Arts Council Artist Fellowship Grant
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Institut du Monde Arabe, Watching Jacob 3 acquired in 2020, Paris, France
Museum of Contemporary Art, Mina Alba, San Diego, La Jolla, California
Arab American National Museum, two large-scale paintings, Dearborn, Michigan
Live Well Center, Singing Patterns, 2023, 60-foot long outdoor mural, San Diego, California
City of San Diego Civic Art Collection 2021, The World Through a Sieve, Downtown Main Library, San Diego, California
California Center for the Arts, In the Sun’s Blood, Escondido, California
Kempinsky Hotel, Star of Beirut, Concierge Installation, Beirut Lebanon
House of Lebanon, Tarab Soundings, Los Angeles, California
De Anza College, Cupertino, California
Athenaeum Music and Art Library, La Jolla, California
San Diego Museum of Art, Jiddo’s Roses Visit France, San Diego, California,
Russell Sage Foundation, Conversation Book 2, New York, New York
SELECTED EXHIBITS
Colonial Colonnade solo, Arab American National Museum, November 9, 2023 - June 9, 2024, Dearborn. Michigan
‘Aemida.Columnata.Colonnade, ENVZN Urban Art Takeover, solo and group, September 2, 2023, San Diego, California
A Common Thread, ART SHARE LA, group, April 1 - May 13, 2023, Los Angeles, California
Lumières du Liban: Art moderne et contemporain de 1950 à aujourd'hui, Institut du Monde Arabe, group, 21 September 2021 to 2 January 2022, Paris. France
Pattern and Place, Dina Abdulkarim, Doris Bittar, Joyce Dallal, group, July 3 - August 29, 2021, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California
Mash, Dina Abdulkarim, Doris Bittar, Joyce Dallal, group, curated by Mark Greenfield, April 2 - May 22, 2021, SoLA Contemporary, Los Angeles, California
Arab Amp, Virtual exhibit, June 30, 2020, Pieter Performance Center, Supported by the California Arts Council, Los Angeles, California.
Visible Migration Patterns, solo, March 25 – April 25, 2019, El Camino College, Torrance, California
Wall to Wall, Joyce Dallal & Doris Bittar, collaboration solo, August 23–September 2, 2019, Dysfunctional Theater Collective, Governors Island, New York, New York
Storming the Wall, Todd Ayoung, Doris Bittar, Melissa Smedley, group, July 1 - July 7, 2018, Center for Art on Migration Politics – CAMP, Roskilde Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
An Open Eye on the Arab World - Exquisite Corpse, Sep 29-April 2018, group Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Dar’a, March/April 2017, group, Artcite Gallery, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Before the Court, Sep 23, 2016–Nov 2, 2016, group, Nadežda Petrović Art Museum, Čačak, Serbia,
56th Venice Biennale, The Arena, “A New Wave of Arts Activism?” collaborative group, Gulf Labor, August 5-6, 2015, Venice, Italy.
Cryptographic, solo, Sep 21–Oct 20, 2015, Al Quds Gallery, Jerusalem Fund, Washington, DC.
Encoded Diasporas, solo, Oct 15–Nov 15, 2014, Mesa College solo, San Diego, California
Between the Stripes, solo, University of California, Santa Barbara Multicultural Center, April 9–
June 13, 2014, Santa Barbara, California
Women, War, and Industry, group, San Diego Museum of Art, October 19, 2013 to February 18, 2014, San Diego, California
Infinite Mirror, 2011-3013, group show sponsored by consortium of private and public organizations. Toured to 19 cities and 12 states throughout the United States from 2011-2014.
25 Years of Arabic Creativity, Oct 16–Feb 3, 2012, group show by Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France July 1–Sep 10, 2013, National Museum, Bahrain. Apr. 2 –Jun 10, 2013, Naila Art Gallery, Ryad, Saudi Arabia. March 5 – March 31, 2013, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Political Patterns, group and solo curator Sabine Vogel, Jul 7 – Oct 3, 2011, ifa Gallery (Institute for Foreign Cultural Exchange/Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Berlin, Germany
Floor to Ceiling, group, July 9 – August 17, 2011, Nabad Art Gallery, Amman, Jordan
Aftermath, 25th group and solo by the Alexandria Biennial for Mediterranean Countries, Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts, December 15, 2009 – January 30, 2010, Alexandria, Egypt
Trade Show, July 1-30 2009, group show by Edgar Varela Fine Arts-Los Angeles- August 10-16, 2009, Ankara Mithatpasa Sanat Galerisi-Ankara-, Eskisehir, 2009, Galeri Iskik-Istanbul, Turkey, 2010.
Tec Tang Tarab, solo show, Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art, Aug 14–Dec 31, 2010, California
Center for the Arts, Escondido, California
Sharjah Biennial 9, Provisions for the Future, solo and group, “Patterns of Sharjah,” Four-Part Installation: Paths to the Persian Market,” Geography Lesson,” and “A Pearl Divers’ Tale” video installation March 22- May 22, 2009, Sharjah Museum of Art, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Piece Process 6: All Walls Must Fall, Sept – Nov 2008, group show by Pomegranate, New York, New York
Soap Story: Ravenna and Beirut, Khaldiyeh’s River Rocks and Stripes and Stars, solo, Ninapi Gallery, March 22 – May 2, 2008, Ravenna, Italy
Doris Bittar, Qisas Al Finjan/Coffee Stories, solo, Athenaeum, Music & Arts Library solo, Feb. 16– March 22, 2008, La Jolla, California
Stripes and Stars, Paintings by Doris Bittar, solo, Frank Pictures Gallery, Bergamot Station, Oct 14 Nov 14, 2007, Santa Monica, California
Jusour Wa Kusour: Doris Bittar 1989-2007 Retrospective, solo, Feb 11–April 1, 2007 Oceanside Museum, Oceanside, California
Piece Process 6: After Lebanon, September – Nov 2007, Portland Art Center, Portland, Oregon
Uncle Hanna’s Electric Heart and Other Stories of Resistance, solo, Southwestern College Gallery, Oct 12–Nov 2, 2006, Chula Vista, California
Kul Shay/All Things: Photographs of Lebanon, Syria and Iran, solo, Jan 11–Feb 11, 2006, David Zapf Gallery, San Diego, California
Prologue and Epilogue: Arab Feminism Past and Present, May 5 – May 7, 2006, The Blue Studio, Sponsored by Sunbula Women, San Francisco, California
In/Visible: Contemporary Art by Arab American Artists, Inaugural Exhibition, May 19-Oct. 30, 2005, The Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan
Somewhere Elsewhere, Oct 19 – Nov 28, 2004 Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Semites, solo, Gotthelf Gallery, The Jacobs Family Jewish Community Center, San Diego, Dec 3, 2003 – Feb 15, 2004, La Jolla, California
Sheherazade: Risking the Passage, El Colegio Gallery, Feb 12-Mar 15, 2003, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Magician’s Day Off and Other Stories, Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza College, February 26 – April 18, 2002, Cupertino, California
The Wandering Ishmael: New Paintings by Doris Bittar, solo, Nov 16–Dec 15, 2000, David Zapf Gallery, San Diego, California
Lebanese Linen, Doris Bittar, solo, Jan 15-Feb 13, 1999, David Zapf Gallery, San Diego, California
Substituting “Rasquachismo for Mimesis” Doris Bittar, Mariam Ishaque, Fatimah Tuggar, September 20 - October 19, 1996, spot, New York, New York
Under the Sun of the West, solo, Sep 29–Nov 20, 1993, The Alternative Museum, New York, New York
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reimer, Jennifer A, Forms of Memoir: Four Case Studies In Movement, Migration, and Transnational Life Writing
Lazzari, Margaret “Migrant Madonna at SoLA,” art and cake, May 10, 2022. review.
CanvasRebel interview, “Meet Doris Bittar,” April 6, 2022.
Frischer, Patricia, “Full Circle but with No Center: Doris Bittar lecture,” SanDiegoVisualArts.net October 2, 2021. review.
Sizonenko, Tatiana, “Review of Doris Bittar’s Visible: Migration Patterns,” Al Jadid, 2019. review.
Pincus, Robert L., “Patterns in Space and Time: The Inclusive Art of Doris Bittar,” March 2019 catalog. El Camino College, Torrance, California.
Massoud, Nahid and Rosenstone, Robert A. Shark Art: East/West – West/East, 2019. book.
“Visible: Migration Patterns” catalog for solo at El Camino College, Torrance, California March-April 2019
Eilat, Galit, “The B-Word: Debating Cultural Boycotts,” Frieze, December 8, 2017. review.
Horne-Gaul, Laura & Lee Gaul, “De-briefing Dar’a/Full Circle,” Tussle Art Magazine, Toronto & New York, April 3, 2017. review.
Mohaiemen, Naeem, images Hans Haacke, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Campaign: On Gulf Labor & Western Museums in the Middle East,” Walker Magazine, December 7, 2016. review.
Lindsey, Ursula, “Standing Up for Migrant Workers in the Gulf, 1 Installation at a Time,” The Nation, November 9, 2015.
Ajl, Max, “From New York to the Arab Gulf, Challenging Global Capitalism to Build Worker Power,” In These Times. July 20, 2016. Review of The Gulf: High Culture/Hard Labor, by Andrew Ross. review.
Watson, Mike, “The state of political art in light of the 56th Venice Biennale and the Creative Time Summit,” Art Review, August 15, 2015. review.
Coombs, Gretchen, “At Venice Biennale, Artists Stage a Pageant for Precarious Workers in Abu Dhabi,” Hyperallergic, September 1, 2015. review.
Vartanian, Hrag, “Artists Launch ‘Letter for Palestine’s Campaign at Venice Biennale,” Hyperallergic, August 13, 2015. letter and discussion..
Gharib, Samir, “Arab Women and Fine Arts,” Al Hayat London/Beirut, July 14, 2015.
Ross, Andrew, Gulf Labor: High Culture, Hard Labor, OR Books 2015. book.
Breslaw, Cathy Multiculturalism Examined in Exhibition "Encoded Histories: Qais Al-Sindy and Doris Bittar", Artful Life, October 14, 2014, Mesa College Art Gallery, October 22, 2014. review.
Jim Chute, San Diego Union-Tribune, “Artists and Workers Unite,” March 12, 2014. review.
Kovatch, Gretel C., San Diego Union-Tribune, “Women’s War Role on Display,” of San Diego Museum of Art’s group exhibit “Women War and Industry.” Jan. 19, 2014. review.
Batty, Dave, “Art World Protest Over ‘mistreatment’ of Migrants at Abu Dhabi Cultural Hub,” The Guardian Observer, UK, November 2, 2013.
Jennifer Zarro, “Infinite Mirror – Images of American Identity” The Art Blog, April 29, 2013. review.
New York Times review of “25 Years of Arab Creativity,” November 2012.
Ehab Ellaban, “The Contemporary Arab Art Scene,” catalog essay for 25 Years of Arab Creativity: traveling exhibit from Paris to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. catalog.
Evelyn Alsultany and Ella Shohat, Representing the Middle East: Cultural Politics in the Americas, University of Michigan Press, 2012-13. book.
Wolfgang Kit, “Verbrechen im Ornament: Political Patterns in der ifa-Galerie Berlin” Bauwelt 33.11. review.
Hermann Pfutze, “Political Patterns: Ornament im Wandel,” Kunstforum, Berlin. review.
Jakob Rondthaler “unter dem gesichelten Mond,” der Freitag, Sept. 9, 2011. Berlin. review.
Jutta von Zitzewitz, “Konzeptschnörkel Political Patterns – Ornament im Wandel“ in der ifa-Galerie Berlin,” Artnet.Com.de, 10. August 2011. review.
Nafas Kuntsmagazin, “Political Patterns – Ornament im Wandel,” July 2011. Burghart Schmidt, “Grunde zum heutigne Wider-Interesse a m Ornament,” (“Reasons for the current renewed interest in ornament”) Patterns/Ornament im Wandel exhibition catalog Institute for Foreign & Cultural Affairs, Berlin & Stuttgart, Germany, July 2011. review.
Sabine Vogel, “Beauty and Terror, Conflicts and Controversies: Ornament Today,” Political Patterns/Ornament im Wandel, exhibition catalog. Institute for Foreign and Cultural Affairs, Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany, July 2011. catalog.
Salwa Mikdadi, Nada M. Shabout, Hossein Amirsadeghi (Editors), New Visions: Arab Contemporary Art and the Twenty-first Century, Thames & Hudson, London, England, 2009. book.
Farhat, Maymanah, “Arab-American Art: Identity, Cultural Expression, and Politics,” Contemporary Practices: Visual Arts From The Middle East, December 2008. review.
The Blender: The Art of Doris Bittar, 29 mins, video by John Odam, 2008, Alternate Focus. video.
Oweis, Fayiq, The Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists, Greenwood Press, 2007. book.
Dakhlia, Jocelyne, Créations artistiques contemporaines en pays d’Islam: des arts en tensions, October 2006, Dime Publication, Paris, France. catalog.
Maymanah, Farhat. “In/Visible”. Dar Al-Hayat. September 19, 2005. review.
Kuo, Laura, “Traces of Exile, Somewhere Elsewhere: Homage to Edward Said, X-TRA Vol 7.3, September 2004. review.
Saidi, Janet, Los Angeles Times, “Art Shows Arabs, Jews Reaching Out”, Feb 2, 2003. article.
Nashashibi, Salwa, “American-Arab Artists: Multiculturalism in America”, in Displacement and Difference, ed. Fran Lloyd, London: Saffron Press, 2002. book.
Pincus, Robert L., “Review of ‘The Wandering Ishmael’” Art in America April 2001.
Biography
Interdisciplinary artist, writer, curator, educator, and social justice activist, Doris Bittar is a 2023 California Arts Council Legacy Artist recipient for her artistic accomplishments, mentoring of young artists, and community organizing. Bittar explores overlapping colonial heritages and identities within historical contexts. Bittar's work is exemplified by patterns, often combined with text as a basis for structures. Bittar views patterns as cultural DNA mutating in tandem with human migration and attached to codes of decorum that may facilitate unnavigable discourse. Bittar's current project, Colonial Colonnade, now being shown at the Arab American National Museum in Michigan concretizes texts to examine how immersive environments conjure improvisational projections for the future.
Bittar’s work has been shown in several international biennials, including the Venice Biennale 2015, Alexandria Biennial 2009-10, and the Sharjah Biennial 2009. Residencies include stays in the cities of Berlin, Stuttgart, Ravenna, Sharjah, Alexandria, (Egypt), and the Arab American National Museum. Bittar is a founding member of Gulf Labor, participant in ArabAmp, Public Address, and Feminist Image Group-FIG. More recently she has collaborated with visual artists Nada Shalaby, Joyce Dallal, performing artist Clarissa Bitar (oud musician) and Nadia Khayrallah (dance). Bittar taught for 25 years at universities in Southern California and was a visiting scholar at NYU in 2017.
Bittar’s publications include essays ranging from political commentary and art to poetry and fiction. Her seminal essay, Inside Arabic Calligraphy from Alif to Zaha provides tools on how to “read” Arabic calligraphy as defined architectural spaces. Mizna’s experimental issue published Bittar’s Colonial Colonnade poetry in January 2022.
Bittar’s lifelong commitment to social justice includes civil rights, labor rights, and peace. She created three nonprofits: Protea Gallery under the sponsorship of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee-ADC; Teach & Learn Literacy-TaLL an ESL in-home program for newly arrived Syrian refugees sponsored by PANA-Parternship for the Advancement of New Americans; Bittar co-founded Gulf Labor West with an interfaith umbrella labor organization to support Labor.Migrant.Gulf, a traveling exhibit in 2014-15. Bittar serves on the San Diego Union-Tribune Community Advisory Board amplifying the voices of Arab Americans, and was the California Organizer for the ADC from 2020-2023.
Bittar, the oldest of five children was born in Baghdad, Iraq to Lebanese and Palestinian parents who immigrated to the United States from Beirut when Bittar was about 6 years old. Bittar has a BFA from the State University of New York Purchase and an MFA from the University of California San Diego.
