THE AD MAN ELIE KHOURI ART PATRON I Myrna Ayad meets Elie Khouri, a regional media mogul whose entry into the world of Contemporary art was, in his own words, “a state of mind”. Five years later, the Lebanese collector is still keen on surrounding himself, and others, with art. n the top floor office of a six-storey building in Dubai Media City sits a CEO known in some circles as one of the region’s godfathers of media. Across a 10-metre wall in the building’s basement is the commissioned graffiti work of British street artists. At 50, and in his trademark dark- rimmed glasses, Elie Khouri beams a boyish grin when humbled or asked a difficult question. The gesture is telling for the man who runs the Middle East and North Africa’s Omnicom Media Group (OMG), a global advertising, marketing and corporate communications holding company. Even more telling is what Khouri chooses to surround himself with: pieces from his 200-strong collection of Contemporary art. Not to mention design objects too. Within his minimalist white-lacquered workspace are burnt-brown leather chairs and sofas, whose artistry he is quick to point out, indicating that craftsmanship is a penchant of his. These Italian goods sit amongst sculptures and installations by Arne Quinze, Velasco Vitali, Diederick Kraaijeveld, David Buckingham and Peter Klasen. However, these artworks – some 50 of which belong to OMG thanks to a scheme initiated by Khouri three years ago – are only a handful of a collection that hangs in the hallways, foyers, landings and offices on each floor (Zakaria Ramhani, Olaf Breuning and Cedric Bouteiller, for example, accompanied by complete wall captions). “My job is to offer 250 employees a happy atmosphere filled with beautiful artworks; we are a creative environment after all,” he says matter-of-factly. This from a media man who refers to people as “brands”. It’s an advertising thing: “Art helps us articulate our brand better; it allows individuals to share their personality with others better to facilitate understanding, connections and interactions; personally, I seek artists who are brands behind their work,” says Khouri. “Craftsmanship” is another favourite word and he chuckles when he realises that he’s said it too often. He is the kind of enthusiast who gazes at the light radiating through a slab of Carrara marble in a hotel lobby; the kind of collector who regularly rotates 78 “I am impulsive. I don’t take time to make a decision.” artworks at work and at home; the kind of boss drawings and sculptures. However, it would not Opening spread: Elie Khouri at the OMG offices who encourages success amongst his staff. be entirely fair to attribute Khouri’s foray into the in Dubai with (on his right) Arnaud Rivieren’s Blue Network. “This company’s culture is based on people Contemporary art (and design) arena to Karam’s 2011. Electrical wires. 85 x 85 x 8 cm and (on his left) David disseminating success; this is not just about iconic elephants. He says “there were many firsts” Buckingham’s Gun. 2013. being successful, but to ensure that others are and insists that the passion for “beautiful things” Hand-cut and welded found metal. Variable dimensions. successful too,” asserts Khouri. was innate, yet dormant, until in 2010, after years Photography by Marvin Caibal. Image courtesy Capital D of exhausting 15-hour-work-days, he arrived not Studio, Dubai. at a particular situation, but rather, at “a state of This page: THE ART PERSONA mind”. It was at this climax that the proverbial Fernando and Humberto Campana. Brass Sushi Buffet. It was a fondness for craftsmanship and an ame- piñata exploded and with it, a voracious appetite 2011. Brass, carpet, rubber, EVA and fabric and estela nability to aesthetics that attracted him to Nadim for art was let loose. “I guess I realised that there’s handcrafted in partially covered sushi rolls. 66 x 200 x 40 cm. Karam’s elephant sculptures about five years ago more to life than work and that you need hob- over lunch at a friend’s home in Beirut. Three play- bies,” he recalls. And off he marched, to design Facing page: Shepard Fairey. Duality Of ful steel pachyderms later, Khouri owns several fairs in Italy, Frieze in London, Art Basel Miami Humanity 2. 2008. Mixed media on paper. of the Lebanese architect-cum-artist’s paintings, Beach, Art Dubai, Design Days Dubai, Abu Dhabi 110 x 151 cm. 79 “It [the Lebanese Civil War] is why I am here. It was tough, but then you need tough things in life.” Art and galleries the world over. “I am impulsive,” Einstein rendered on a 200 x 180 cm canvas by admits Khouri, who claims to be a “fair” negotia- Spanish artist Lita Cabellut. “Even this genius looks tor. “I don’t take time to make a decision.” This is mistaken,” laughs Khouri. It is a candid hint to his another advertising thing: impulse, and with it, art-orientation. He enjoys the witty and the hu- the urge to follow through, bring to pass, sign off. morous on the one hand, and the symbolic and Auctions are a perfect feeding ground here and the meaningful on the other. Case in (former) he enjoys them tremendously. point are Buckingham’s Gun, the artist’s take on Art, Khouri says “is a constant” in his globetrot- the history and present relationship that America ting life. So is Emirates Airline. He concedes that has with weapons; and Shepard Fairey’s Duality Of he can act like “a spoilt kid” when he doesn’t get Humanity 2, which addresses the fight between an artwork (or objet) that he wants: “It’s ridiculous good and evil, exemplified in the flower on a child to be on a waitlist!” and “I have sleepless nights soldier’s beret and the Kalashnikov that he holds. when I don’t get it!” and “I’ll pay more!” But his Interestingly, Khouri owns other ‘guns’ – Justine humility constantly comes to the fore: “I do ac- Smith’s Instruments Of State – Myanmar, from the cept it after being disappointed, but I always tell Weapons series of banknote-wrapped guns and myself ‘Elie, you will always see beautiful things’,” grenades that tackle money as an agent of pow- he says. In the CEO’s office is a pensive Albert er; and Breuning’s gun drawn on paper, whose 80 ART PATRON projectile reads ‘I Hate Violence’. They are not violent works, but they most definitely address a small, but crucial faction of Khouri’s collection and facet of his personality: the Lebanese Civil War. “It’s why I am here,” he says. “It was tough, but then you need tough things in life.” This page: Left: Lonnke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta. Fragile Future 3.10. 2010. Dandelion seed heads, bronze, LEDs and Perspex. 117 x 33 x 33 cm. THE ART OF RESOLUTION Right: Nadim Karam. He was the kid who lived in Ashrafieh, a Beirut district then overrun by political blocs, members of Flower Elephant. 2011. Stainless steel sculpture with whom Khouri befriended and naively thought would safeguard the neighbourhood, only to find out super shiny finish. 70 x 92 x 10 cm. later that casualties of war are not just about bodies, but values too. “I took it as a learning curve, but Facing page: imagine being a young witness to pure ugliness, walking home and trying to figure out if the sound Elie Khouri with (on the of that bomb is coming or going and seeing corpses hooked up to and then dragged by a pick-up wall) Diederick Kraaijeveld’s Yellow Ferrari. 2008. truck,” says Khouri. It was during this time that his entrepreneurial streak first flickered, when he sold Coloured vintage wood. 120 x 86 cm and (on the fireworks and canned foods. Speaking of food, he believes it is perhaps his earliest exposure to the arts floor) Peter Klasen. NGK Table. 2013. Mixed media, and is owed to his father, who was a chef at the Casino du Liban. Khouri stood by his old man, watching Plexiglas and glass. 35 x 101 x 125 cm. Photography textures thicken, colours transform and aromas diffuse. “There is art in food,” he insists. by Marvin Caibal. Image He was then the teen who dodged sniper bullets fired from Burj El-Murr, an abandoned 36-storey courtesy Capital D Studio, Dubai. tower, which was operated by militias, guerrilla forces and occupying armies due to its strategic loca- 81 ART PATRON “They say that today’s lead- ers have to have vision. But I think they need a mix of vision and intuition.” tion in downtown Beirut. For all Lebanese who jithomas and Khalil Joreige’s burned negative of survived the war, it remains a permanent phan- Beirut in its heyday does. “I’m glad I got that one,” tom, an emblem of terror. But decades after this he says of the duo’s Wonder Beirut series. gore, and thanks to his resolve, Khouri holds no A Bachelor’s and Master’s from the American grudges and it is these experiences that may help University of Beirut later, Khouri found himself explain his philanthropy – he is known to bid gen- enjoying the silence on his Nicosia balcony in erously at charity auctions. After all this time and 1988, embarking on what were his early days as all this carnage, he is delighted to see Burj El-Murr, an ad man. After brief stints in Paris and Manama, that fortress of doom, rendered against a bright he settled in Dubai in 1991, where he has been floral pattern, recontextualised by Lebanese artist based since. “Advertising and art are about com- Ayman Baalbaki in what seems to Khouri at least, municating ideas beautifully so that when the as a reconciliation with a bygone era. That work consumer gets that idea, there’s magic,” he says is among the ones that got away, but Ossama with a snap of his fingers. Baalbaki’s 2009 acrylic on canvas of a scorched Mercedes – another phantom of the war – is one which didn’t. It certainly preserves and recalls a THE CONTENT TRAVELLER memory in much the same way that Joana Had- Like all advertising men, Khouri likes a good story 82 ART PATRON and with his collecting hobby, this can sometimes information about his various acquisitions that take the form of a blockbuster (for example, Keith told him he was a collector. More specifically, it Haring, Andy Warhol and George Condo) or a was the column titled ‘price’. As far as numbers good read. It is those of the latter, which Khouri are concerned, Khouri would be happy knowing and collectors alike take risks with, that ‘next best that by the time he bequeaths his collection to thing’. For him, however, the green light on specu- his family, its value would have amplified. Before lation is intuition. “They say that today’s leaders an inheritance, however, he’d like to see more have to have vision,” he explains. “But I think they government support in a local art scene that need a mix of vision and intuition.” Either way, “feels a little scattered” and is keen on educat- Khouri is a businessman who likes to make a good ing people about the arts. Khouri has gone so far This page: investment. He also likes big artworks. “Maybe it’s a as to imagine setting up a non-profit exhibition David LaChapelle. Burning masculine thing,” he laughs, but insists on art pos- space to showcase his collection, but that idea Down The House. 1996. Photograph. 180 x 246 cm. sessing “presence and impact”. hasn’t teethed yet. And besides, he wants to sell Edition three of three. Ironically, for a man whose professional man- a few pieces that he has outgrown because his Facing page: Nabil Nahas. So Happy To tra is concerned with strategy, Khouri’s collection taste has evolved. “I’m still seeking perfection,” See You. 2002. Acrylic on was not conceived with any long-term objec- explains Khouri. “I’m still looking for the best, for canvas. 84 x 72 cm. tives. It was and always will be, pure, utter joy. It the thing I like most.” That’s another advertising All images courtesy Elie Khouri, unless was an Excel sheet that contains thumbnails and thing: the next best campaign. otherwise specified. 83
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