“This series of palm trees is part of a set of drawings of trees in which I aim to present species in danger of extinction, often victims of predatory insects, an indirect consequence of climate change. I love palm trees for their majesty, natural elegance, flexibility, and resistance to the elements. With Indian ink pens on paper, I draw these trees from pictures I have affectionately taken, transcribing my vision of reality as I sense it. This work immortalizes the Palm trees as they descend into extinction. Somehow, representing the trees saves them from their predicament, even if for a finite yet indeterminate time.” 

Nicole Bouldoukian Nicole Berjon Bouldoukian is an artist working in France and Lebanon. She has exhibited her work in both countries, including the Epreuve D'Artistes Gallery. A native of Lozère, France, she was first drawn to Lebanon in an exhibition while studying literature in Montpellier. She has remained in Lebanon for 50 years now, where she has become a mother and grandmother. Her work relies primarily on painting, drawing, and copper enamels, stoneware, bronze, and resin. Her practice takes up themes of fauna, La Fontaine Fables, human relations, and numerous others. Currently, she is interested in extinction and environmental deterioration. 

The Upper Gallery hosts an ongoing series of rotating displays and small-scale exhibitions. The program of the Upper Gallery is intended to spotlight projects which are experimental or smaller in scale, as well as overlooked practices of modern and contemporary art.