Najla El Zein. Photo: Lobke Leijser
Najla El Zein
PROJECT
Created in collaboration with master artisans from Lebanon, this work was carved from limestone from an ancient mountain outside of Beirut. Intended to be inhabited rather than observed, the sculptures lean and interlace, resting against one another and creating curves into which a human body fits naturally. For Najla El Zein limestone carries the memory of deep time, released by carving into the here and now. Designed to encourage gathering, the work sets a condition– spatial, physical and relational – and invites a slowing of pace, to be together for a moment on shared ground.
ABOUT
Najla El Zein (born Beirut, 1983) is a Lebanese-French designer and artist based in Amsterdam. Trained at École Camondo in Paris, where she completed studies in product design and interior architecture/spatial design, El Zein has developed a practice that moves deliberately between object and environment, and between utility and sculptural presence.
Working with natural and mineral materials – particularly stone, glass, clay, plaster and concrete – El Zein’s work is rooted in craftsmanship and shaped by an intuitive creative process. She is known for producing sculptural pieces that invite tactile engagement and often explore intimacy, identity, vulnerability and human connection. Her practice emphasises the journey of the making process, where human relations, craftsmanship, time, narrative and emotions are all interconnected. El Zein inscribes herself within the slow design movement, valuing a holistic and thoughtful approach to the process of creation. She emphasises the importance of time, intention and the deeper connections between design, making and materials.
In 2022 she realised the major permanent public commission Us, Her, Him for Qatar Museums. An expansive sequence of carved limestone benches at Doha’s Flag Plaza, the work was conceived as an invitation to gathering and shared civic life. Her work has been exhibited internationally and acquired by institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (UK), and the Dallas Museum of Art (US).