In the Sun's Blood

The canvases of Doris Bittar are noted for their rich layering of imagery and patterning. Through this complex imagery, Bittar speaks to culture, identity, and conflict from personal experience. Her childhood years were spent in Baghdad, Iraq and Beirut, Lebanon, before she moved with her family to New York.

In the Sun’s Blood is an excellent example of Bittar’s skill at weaving together images from a variety of sources. On a background of abstract vertical stripes, Bittar layers a floral pattern reminiscent of nineteenth-century European wallpaper. Partially concealed beneath are images of figures and landscapes appropriated from the notebooks of Eugéne Delacroix. Her work examines the conflicts and tensions that exist between the Arab, Jewish, and Christian cultures in the Middle East.