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In this episode of Art Basel’s ‘Meet the artists,’ Fattal moves between clay and bronze, sculpture and painting, reflecting on war, form, and the human figure – which she sees as fundamental to what it means to be human. ‘We should be standing up to everything we can. Ideas, events, wars, anything,’ she says. Drawing on a life shaped by conflict, she rejects the idea that her sculptural figures are fragments, insisting that each one is complete, even if it might not appear so.
The film/photo series briefly steps inside the renowned Susse Fondeur, offering a glimpse of the the figure Apollon (2026) in production as the sculpture takes shape in bronze – before returning to Fattal’s studio.
Photo Editor & Commissioner:
Photographer:
Akiel Gallina
Eike Walkenhorst















Shot in her Paris studio, this film/photo series follows artist and writer Simone Fattal, whose life and work have unfolded across continents. Born in Damascus, Fattal grew up in Lebanon before moving to the United States, where she lived and worked for many years alongside her partner, artist and writer Etel Adnan. After decades in Sausalito, California, the two later relocated to Paris, where Fattal now lives and works.
In this episode of Art Basel’s ‘Meet the artists,’ Fattal moves between clay and bronze, sculpture and painting, reflecting on war, form, and the human figure – which she sees as fundamental to what it means to be human. ‘We should be standing up to everything we can. Ideas, events, wars, anything,’ she says. Drawing on a life shaped by conflict, she rejects the idea that her sculptural figures are fragments, insisting that each one is complete, even if it might not appear so.
The film/photo series briefly steps inside the renowned Susse Fondeur, offering a glimpse of the the figure Apollon (2026) in production as the sculpture takes shape in bronze – before returning to Fattal’s studio.
Photo Editor & Commissioner:
Photographer:
Akiel Gallina
Eike Walkenhorst
© 2026 Akiel Gallina
© 2026 Akiel Gallina