Delicately sculpted from Sippo wood, Egyptologie (2023) articulates Chaouki Choukini’s agile study of architectonic forms and biomorphic elements. The soft, meandering curvatures of the polished wood challenge the medium’s rigidity, while the delicate, window-like openings allow light to shine through the work. Revealing his influence from Japanese aesthetics, Choukini’s minimalist form evokes a timeless elegance. 

Born in Southern Lebanon in 1946, Chaouki Choukini is a Paris-based sculptor known for his remarkably consistent aesthetic vision exploring the essence of form and material. His sculptural works are primarily crafted from wood but occasionally use marble, bronze, or stone. They span from sturdy horizontal forms to delicate, upright sculptures with an almost totemic quality. He is widely celebrated for his ability to transform rigid materials into works that appear to defy gravity–– fluid and dynamic. 

Though he considered medical school, he was trained as a formal artist at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris from 1967 to 1972 thanks to a government grant. In 1984, he spent time in Japan which left an indelible mark on his artistic approach. There he studied under the sculptor Fumio Otani, who taught him new techniques and how to wield specific tools that were unfamiliar to him until then. The Japanese influence is particularly evident in his preference for understated and refined shapes.

He was awarded the Prix de la Jeune Sculpture in 1978, followed by the Taylor Foundation Prize in 2010 and the Prix de la Fondation Pierre Gianadda, from de l’Academie des Beaux Arts, France in 2015. He has participated in a number of solo and group shows internationally. Today, his works can be found in several prestigious collections, including Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Musée d’Art Contemporain de Val-de-Marne, France; Institut du Monde Arabe, France; Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Centre National des Arts Plastique, France; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE; and Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE. He lives and works in France.