Collection: Marie Khouri

Born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon, this now Vancouver-based West-coast designer is an emerging name in the art and architectural design community. Marie was classically trained in sculpture at the prestigious l’École du Louvre in Paris, France.

Her work is showcased in a number of locations worldwide, with over 25 public artworks currently on display, and more held in private collections. Marie expertly combines art, design, form and function in a way that promotes creativity and elegance in her pieces.

When did you discover your calling to become a sculptor?

I was 35 years old when I started sculpting, and to me that is very important, because a lot of the time people feel that when they are 25 or 30, they have their paths, and it's too late to do something different. Regardless of where you start, once you get a few years in you are already at another level. What is meaningful to me now is what I am doing.

You speak five languages, and used to be an interpreter. What is your relationship to language today?

Language has always been with me, and it came very easily to me. My mother is Spanish, my grandmother is Italian, I was born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon, then moved to Canada. Speaking is not only about the language itself, but about culture

You moved to Canada 15 years ago. How has making your home here affected your art?

Organic. All of my work now is textured, so organic, and that is from living here. I’m very, very urban, you see - I’ve lived in Cairo, Lebanon, Paris, Madrid - and in all those places, you had to go to a park to see greenery. Coming here I was overwhelmed at first (by the rain), but then little by little, nature started almost coming into my veins.

What artists have informed and inspired your work?

I discovered sculpture when I saw Henry Moore’s work. What I love about sculpture is that you can touch it, and you can smell - the wax. The bronze, the smell of metal. And all of my work is to be touched, I am not sacrosanct - on the contrary. I make things that people sit on, pieces that have to live with us. They are part of you, part of your house, your eyes share it, your body can share it. I love that Bill Reid sculpture at the airport, where people touch it. Everywhere is green, but where people touch it is gold - how beautiful is that?