Helen Khal

With the encouragement of her colleagues, notably well-known Lebanese artist Aref Rayess, Khal pursued her art and she held her first individual exhibition in 1960 in Galerie Alecco Saab in Beirut. Her other one-woman shows took place at Galerie Trois Feuilles d'Or, Beirut (1965); Galerie Manoug, Beirut (1968); at the First National Bank, Allentown, Pennsylvania (1969); in Kaslik, Lebanon (1970); at the Contact Art Gallery, Beirut (1972, 1974 and 1975) and at the Bolivar Gallery in Kingston, Jamaica in 1975. Her work also appeared in the Biennales of Alexandria and São Paulo.[2]

She also taught art at the American University of Beirut from 1967-1976 and at the Lebanese American University from 1997-1980. She inspired many other artists and her "background concerning art is fully enriched by the many wonders of the world of art."[3]

Helen Khal was also recognized as an author and critic. "From 1966 to 1974, Helen Khal was Art Critic to two Lebanese periodicals, The Daily Star and Monday Morning. (...) She also wrote a number of publications in the Middle East and the USA and frequently lectured on art." [4]

A series of 22 lectures that she gave was collected and published as a book titled The Woman Artist in Lebanon.[5]

On May 20, 2009, Helen Khal suffered a stroke and died.

Khal, who was painting shortly before she fell into her final sleep, is remembered for her keen intelligence and probing, witty conversation. The artist on color: “Each color has its own climate, creates its own particular world; inviolate, each color speaks with quiet seduction.” She was "survived by her two sons, Tarek and Jawad, both mathematicians" and "five grandchildren, one great grandchild, and her sister, Seya Parbousingha, also a painter."