Randa Missir: The perfect combination between decoration and ceramics
Randa Missir’s passion for art, ceramics and interior design began at an early age. With years of experience in the field, the young woman exhibits works by renowned ceramists on the local and international scene. Equally adept at discovering national and foreign talents, she takes up the challenge of propelling them onto the art scene and exhibiting their creations which, over time, become sought-after and often highly-rated pieces. With her communicative vivacity and dynamism, Randa shares some of the key moments in her career.
A refined and eclectic selection
PIK’D, the gallery founded by Randa Missir and which took up residence in Saïfi Village in 2022, lives up to its name, as “each piece exhibited here is unique and carefully selected”, she proudly explains. Entering PIK’D means discovering a fantastic universe, full of light and cheerfulness, reflecting the sunny and enthusiastic personality of its owner, both through the choice of ceramic works exhibited and through that of the architecture and colors, sunny yellow and white, chosen to dress the walls of this beautiful space. Vases of different sizes, urns, sculptures, candlesticks, floor lamps, suspensions, ceramic, glass and wooden pieces, so many exclusive pieces nicely arranged and highlighted, the installations and works being regularly renewed. Creations by more than 50 Lebanese and foreign artists of various nationalities – Greek, Danish, African, Korean, Italian and French – that the young art enthusiast, always on the lookout for great finds, scrupulously selects, and whose volume never ceases to grow with her many peregrinations.
“I buy a considerable quantity of works from certified artists to meet the specific demands of clients who want high-level fittings. Pieces for which I fall in love, whether for inclusion in my own collection or to furnish my customers’ interiors.”
And to best satisfy their desires, she also commissions custom creations from talented artists. “I frequently visit their homes to follow the progress of the work. For some foreign artists, I travel to villages very far from the center, sometimes requiring a day’s drive”, she explains.
From one exhibition to the next
“It started with the acquisition of 5 pieces, then 20 and quickly rising to 180, then 300 and so on.”
Back then, Randa Missir enjoyed frequently changing the decoration of her home, and between 2018 and 2020, she stacked the remaining objects between the warehouse and her office in Solidere, Downtown Beirut, where she has set up a showroom.
“I currently have a multitude of pieces that I arrange between PIK’D and the Solidere showroom, and occasionally at local exhibitions”, the first of which was Beirut Art Fair, and where it was a great success. “Others followed in Lebanon and abroad. Among the most important, Collect in London, the world’s largest arts and crafts fair, or Révélations, at the Grand Palais in Paris…”
Each exhibition takes around six months of preparation, from choosing the theme and colors to planning and decorating the space. “In addition, she says, every morning when I am in Lebanon, I go around the artists to make sure everything is running smoothly and to keep track of all the steps involved in executing the pieces.”
Exploring space
Her life takes place between two planes: on the one hand, she never misses an international fair to acquire new sculptures and objects, but also to unearth rising stars; on the other hand, she carries out, with her husband Claude, architect, projects in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Africa.
Randa Missir, who has more than one string to her bow, always seems ready to bring new dreams to life.