After nearly 60 years of identifying the essentials of abstraction, the great contemporary Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s latest work is now guided by intuition.
Samia Halaby greets me from the first landing of warped stairs that lead to artists' lofts in an old Tribeca building. The stairs are worn from years of use, like most structures in this part of New York, where 19th century low-rise buildings and cobblestone side streets provide a glimpse of the city's past. Halaby has lived here since the 1970s, long before celebrities flocked to the lower Manhattan neighborhood. I look up at the abstract painter, smile, and say hello as I begin to climb the stairs, performing a sort of ritual we’ve practiced for years.
It’s an unusually cold spring day. Halaby wears black slacks and a knitted navy blue sweater. The textured pullover is one of many the octogenarian has made in her spare time, and includes a hint of abstraction with red epaulets that she crocheted and added to the shoulders. The bright fabrics accentuate her short silver hair.
