Matar preserves the dignity of natural beauty...

Matar preserves the dignity of natural beauty and  makes you wonder whether man should live in  a meaningful world of thoughts and theories, or whether  man should  “naturally” find safety, wisdom, thoughts and humanity in the unification of the mind, the heart and the whispers of the beauty of the nature. Matar’s paintings teach you a lesson in philosophy of life, explode in your subconscious, a passion for cosmic beauty, and metamorphose in your inner world, a green eloquent silence you can only hear in the murmurs of the unspoiled beauty of nature. Matar’s paintings invite you to flirt with colors, nature and visions sweeter and stronger than you. 

 Bring nothing for the journey, friend, nothing….. Not even yourself. Forget yourself, for you are going to rediscover yourself, once you sail into the colors, forms, shapes and shapes of shapes that exist only in the beauty you bring to and take from nature. The beauty of nature and the limpid artistic honesty of Matar are twins!

 

 

 

Lebanon is immortal…the real ancient Lebanon! And Matar strengthens Lebanon’s immortality through his paintings. Nabeh El Safah, The Cedars, Adonis, Ashtarout, Ahiram, Didon,  the welcoming voices of  parents and friends echoing in the valley and behind the hills of Lebanese villages,  the poetry, the friendly political debates of  the people of the villages around a “TARNIB” soiree (Lebanese Card Game) under the light of a portable lantern known back then as “The Lux”, (At the time,  many villages did not have electricity and paved roads and asphalted streets)…the boring but necessary sermon of the village priest every Sunday,  the good old days, the dried figs on the roof, the harvest of the olives, the making of the “Arak”, all those nostalgic fragments of  life are still alive in Matar paintings, simply because his brushes are part fiber, and part rays of divine inspiration. For, when Mattar paints, Saint Maron is watching…Fakher El Dine is stimulated and ready to take on the Ottoman Empire and the “Al Bab Al Ali” (The High Door), and  Napoleon is fighting back Al Jazzar. 

 

You can touch the canvases of Matar  if your wishes are to transcend time and space and rediscover the happy simple and warm life of the  Lebanese villages and the immensity of the beauty of Lebanese nature. The techniques Matar used in creating this very exact and particular tone of off-white color for the village houses walls and particularly the olive-grayish strokes he threw over the trees he painted reveal a supreme mastery of the language of colors, lights, and shades. Matar is the Master of the Near Eastern Landscape Painting! Yes, he walks tall and proud among the greatest artists of his country. Although, Matar did learn a lot from Omar Onsi and illustrious masters,  Matar did surpass many of them ay many levels. In my book, he is as great as Corm, Salibi, Omar Onsi, Moustapha Farroukh and Rashid Wehbi.