BEIRUT: A mask, in the conventional sense of the term, is a thing used to cover the face, either for purposes of disguise (as at Halloween) or self protection (as in welding).

Lebanese-born artist Fadia Haddad does not subscribe to this point of view. She feels that the face coverings that provide one of the central motifs of her exhibition “Masks and Birds” – nowadays up at Beirut’s Alice Mogabgab Gallery – don’t hide but instead reveal an underlying meaning.

This study of masks dwells on the themes that have haunted Haddad’s life: birds, the womb and flowers. The underlying meaning seems to be the artist’s self-renewing quest for artistic beauty and mystery.

Triangular African masks – flat on top, elongated to a point below – are Haddad’s formal starting point. The shape is not an end in itself. She plays with the textures and lines, giving each mask a life of its own.

Her work, ironically, is both humble and powerful.

The humility stems from the anonymity of the masks – which are austerely entitled “Mask I,” “Mask II” and so forth – freeing the artist from defining what is being depicted precisely, leaving the spectator to project her own notions upon the painted object.

Some of her masks, on the other hand, are powerful. “Mask III” (2009) is astonishing for its size (160x130 cm) and its colors. The major part of the canvas is bright red, circling a black item.

Again, no information is conveyed concerning the nature of the item. Does it represent a heart or a womb? Does the color red represent blood? Once again, the spectator is left to wonder upon the nature of the painting.

In a February 1995 article in Le Monde, Haddad was characterized as “stubborn,” because we feel she wrestled doing her paintings. Hard brush strokes and blueprints of shapes characterize how each of her masks is an adventurous composition.

The artist’s media are equally important. Some masks are painted on canvas. Others are rendered on reused paper.

“Mask” (2006) seems to depict a flower, or a flower-shaped mask. Upon closer inspection, Haddad’s media is revealed to be a paper sheet upon which is printed a diagram of the divisions of French government.

“Mask II” (2005) is painted on an anonymous company’s expenses sheets from January 1928.

This use of recycled materials echoes Haddad’s reputation for self-renewal, and the importance of metamorphosis in her work.

“I stay spontaneous, without being automatic,” Haddad remarked to French art critic Francoise Monnin in Artension Magazine in 1991. “After the beginning of something, there is its metamorphosis.”

Haddad has been exhibiting since 1995, most extensively in France and Belgium. “Masks and Birds” is her ninth solo show.

Alice Mogabgab, who is friends with the artist, characterized Haddad as someone who always wants to go further in her artistic representations. What is interesting about Haddad’s work, Mogabgab opined, is that “she constantly plays with textures and lines, and constantly wants to reach a new mystery in arts.”

The gallerist feels Haddad’s paintings do not need amateur spectators, but people who know what they look at, and how to appreciate the work. It seems Lebanon is not ready for Haddad’s art because of its strength, she continued, unlike Europe.

Ten years from now, Mogabgab suggests, Haddad may be considered one of Lebanon’s best contemporary artists.

“Masks and Flowers” is up at Alice Mogabgab Gallery, Achrafieh, until November 26. For more information ring +961 1 204 984.