Award-winning, Beirut-based art director and photographer Raya Farhat has been a contributor to Lebanon’s A Mag (Aïshti) and L’Officiel-Levant for over eight years. She’s collaborated with international photographers and stylists such as David Bellemère, Marco Pietracupa, Jürgen Teller and Oliver Hadlee Pearch, among many others.
Month: September 2022
Born in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Salwa Zeidan left Lebanon in the 1980s and settled in the United Arab Emirates, where she worked as a painter and a curator. She has contributed significantly to the regional art scene by opening the first contemporary art gallery in Abu Dhabi, in 1994, focusing on showing Emirate, Middle Eastern and international artists.
Mohammad El Rawas is one of Lebanon’s most prominent contemporary artists. He was born in 1951 in Beirut, Lebanon, where he studied at the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University, and later moved to London to study printmaking at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Omar Zeidan is a mixed media Lebanese artist who works predominantly in painting and digital media. Zeidan’s unique style borrows techniques from digital art as well as music and sound composition, owing to his experience as a techno composer.
Born in 1970 in Beirut, Lebanon, Marwan Sahmarani studied at l’École Supérieur d’Art Graphique in Paris, France. His oil paintings are notable for his explosive use of color and frenetic brushwork that imbues the dense scenes he paints with energetic movement.
Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Layal Khawly studied Interior Architecture at ALBA and later obtained an MA in Visual arts. Her paintings engage with the sociopolitical environment of Lebanese villages and cities, specifically the architectural and structural complexity of her surroundings, that are brought to life through layered painting techniques.
Born in Beirut in 1973, Raffi Yedalian studied Etching at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Art and Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Art Toros Roslin. Yadalian’s etchings, paintings and wood and bronze sculptures are characterized by stylized human faces whose angular features convey a sense of eternal longing.
Born in Lebanon in 1957, Hanibal Srouji studied in Lebanon and Canada and has been living between Beirut and Paris since 1989. His muted canvases which appear abstract at first glance, are in fact inspired by the artist’s own memories.
Born in 1960, Katya Traboulsi is a Beirut-based multimedia artist whose practice is characterized by the emotional intensity with which she confronts the effects of the Lebanese civil war.
Born in Lebanon in 1954 Raouf Rifai lives and works in Beirut. He has a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the Sorbonne in Paris and teaches art at the Lebanese University.
Jamil Molaeb was born in Baysour, a town in the Chouf region of Lebanon where he continues to live and work. In addition to painting, Molaeb is a sculptor and makes mosaics – a practice reflected in his canvas works.
Nadim Karam is a multidisciplinary artist, whose work incorporates painting, drawing, and sculpture through a distinct artistic style that draws from Oriental and Japanese theories of space.
Born in 1974, Semaan Khawam is a Lebanese painter, designer, graffiti artist, actor, writer, and poet who lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon.
Born in Damascus in 1942, Simone Fattal studied philosophy in Paris and Beirut before emigrating to California in 1980, during the Lebanese Civil War.
Born in 1959 in Deir El Kamar, Lebanon Jacques Rizkallah graduated from the Lebanese University of Fine Arts, after which he studied Mural and Fresco Painting in Rome, Italy. His abstract works explode with color.
Born in Dahr El Sawan, in 1965, Julie Bou Farah graduated from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) where she later went on to teach in 1991. Farah has also held teaching positions at Notre Dame University and the Lebanese University.
Leila Jabre Jureidini’s painting and sculptural work bridge the gulf between classical and conceptual art. Born in Lebanon in 1963, the Beirut-based artist studied in Paris and New York and worked as a designer for many years.
Born in Beirut in 1965, Rim El Jundi studied religious art at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik and fine art at the Lebanese American University, where she was awarded The Sheikh Zayed Graduation Award from the Lebanese American University in 1997.
Joseph Harb was born in Beirut in 1964 and studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) and the Lebanese University. His paintings of seemingly disparate objects that borrow techniques from collage point to Harb’s desire to blur the formal artistic boundaries in his abstract mixed media works.
Mansour El Habre was born in Lebanon in 1970 and studied fine arts at the Lebanese University and the University of Balamand.
Born in Deir al-Qamar in 1931, Laure Ghorayeb has been exhibiting her intricate ink drawings since the 1960s, documenting the people and events in her life, and charting their experiences of living through political conflict.
Liane Mathes Rabbath is a Beirut-based artist who for the past 20 years or so, has experimented with the diverse medium of collage, creating elaborate geometric works that attest to the versatility of her chosen medium.
Born in Lebanon in 1964, Marwan Chamaa is a painter, designer, and storyteller who studied Art at the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University, and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C.
Zeina Badran was born in Tripoli and worked as a self-taught artist for several years before studying fine art at the Lebanese American University.
Oussama Baalbaki was born in Beirut in 1978, where he studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Art. His delicate paintings, often executed
in photo realistic detail, consist of black-and-white self-portraits, most
containing a single surrealistic element.
Born in Bizerte, Tunisia in 1965, Imed Jemaiel shifted his attention to the arts after two years of medical school. In 1990, he earned a degree in Fine Arts, specialising in printmaking. In 1992, he started teaching at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Tunisia.
Born in Tunisia in 1976, self-taught artist Ymen Berhouma lives and works between Paris and Tunis. Her debut in the art world began through her vibrant painting whose characters invited spectators into a dream-like world.
Ekram Tira was born in Tunisia in 1982 and holds a degree in Fine Arts, with a specialization in engraving, and a master’s degree in Sciences and Techniques of the Arts from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Tunis. She has been teaching art since 2007.
Born in Sfax in 1961, artist Adnene Hadi Sassi is a painter and holds a degree in Sciences and Techniques of the Arts. Curiosity and doubt are at the origin of his artistic practice and his goal is to diversify the manner in which he approaches the same subject.
Born in 1982 in Tunis, multi-disciplinary artist Thameur Mejri trained as a painter at the Institute of Fine Arts in Tunis and now lives and works in Nabeul, Tunisia. He currently teaches at the Higher Institute of the Arts & Crafts in Kairouan while completing a Ph.D. in Sciences and Technology of Arts and continuing to exhibit in Tunisia and internationally.
Born in 1973, Tunisian artist Omar Bey graduated from L’Institut Supérieur des Beaux-arts in 1998 and completed a residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in 2012.
Born in Tunisia in 1965, Feryel Lakhdar studied at École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture and at École des Beaux-arts in Paris. She took part in the production of film set design when she moved to France to study urban and furniture design.
Born in Nabeul, Tunisia in 1951, Khaled Ben Slimane graduated from the Escola Massana of Barcelona in 1977 and then from the Technological Institute of Art in Tunisia in 1982. His multidisciplinary practice includes paintings on paper, canvas and wood. He is mostly known for his ceramic and bronze sculptures.
Nizar Othman is a visual artist born in Lebanon and of Syrian descent. Outhman began his professional career working as a journalist and caricaturist, for which he was awarded the Bronze medal at the Guangxi international comics in 2007 (University city Guangxi); the “Excellence Award at e Competition of Guangxi international comics in 2007 (University city Guangxi) China; a Special Honorary Prize – Competition of the International Journal of Rhino (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 2008.
Mohamad Khayata obtained his degree in Fine Arts from the Damascus university. Since moving to Lebanon in 2012, he has held three solo exhibitions at 392RMEIL393 in 2013, 2015, and 2017 and participated at the Beirut Art Fair in 2017.
Walaa Dakak was born in 1978 in Damascus, Syria. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Damascus and later studied Contemporary Art and New Media at the Université Paris.
Bahram Hajo was born in Syria in 1952. He studied at the Fine Arts
Academy in Dusseldorf Germany and in 1984 graduated from the
Kunstakademie Münster.
Born in Aleppo in 1972, self-taught artist Nihad Al Turk’s work focuses on the existential crisis of the individual caught up in power struggles between good and evil. Based in Beirut, Al Turk situates his work against a backdrop of literature and philosophy, painting a recurrent cast of mythical demons, outcasts, and antiheroes.
Alaa Sharabi was born in Damascus in 1988 and studied printmaking at the University of Damascus where he was later appointed as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts. His bold paintings combine rich palettes with frenetic lines and complex compositions.
Ismail Al Rifai was born in Mayadin in 1967 and studied Fine Art at the University of Damascus. Al Rifai has served as a member of the Syrian Fine Arts Syndicate as well as the UAE Fine Arts Society and currently works as a researcher in the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah.
Dubai-based painter Mohannad Orabi was born in Damascus in 1977 and graduated from the Faculty of Fine Art in Damascus in 2000.
Born in Homs in 1953, Ghassan Nana studied at the Fine Arts Center in Homs and the University of Damascus. His luminous, delicate oil paintings are executed in a classical impressionist style, capturing soothing pastoral scenes that possess a haunting and ethereal quality.
Born in Homs in 1977, Mouteea Murad studied Fine Arts at the University of Damascus. His works are inspired by traditional Islamic art in which spirituality and formalism are unified in geometric form.
Born in Daraa, southwest Syria, in 1989, Mohammad Labash studied painting and drawing at Damascus University.
Ahmad Kleige was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1964. He studied at the Fathi Mohamed Fine Arts Center in Aleppo.
Born in Damascus, Syria in 1948, Nazir Ismail took part in over 60 exhibitions throughout his artistic career. His colourful oil paintings capture human figures and roosters in warm, earthy colours, while his watercolours on paper convey the realities of modern Syria.
Born in Syria in 1967, Thaier Helal has been a student of notable painters such as Mahmoud Hammad during his studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus.
Zuheir Dabbagh was born in Aleppo in 1953 and studied at Damascus University …graduation project was about the massacre of Tal al-Zaatar (1976).
Walid Agha was born in Damascus in 1953 and studied Visual Communications at the University of Damascus before establishing his own silk-screening workshop.
Khalid Takriti is a renowned Syrian artist, who was born in Beirut in 1964. He graduated from the Architecture and Painting Academy in Damascus after which he worked as an architect in Damascus’ General Directorate of Antiquity and Museums.
Walid El Masri was born in Syria in 1979. Prior to receiving his BA from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus in 2005, he studied mosaic-making.
Shadi Abousada is a painter, installation and video artist whose work explores the complex socio-political reality and absurdity of his cultural milieu.
Born in Gaza in 1976 Mohamed Abusal explores the precarity and absurdity of living under siege. A painter, photographer, and video and installation artist, Abusal’s works offer a provocative and critical reflection on the trappings–both technological, political, and social–of living in Gaza today.
Bashar Alhroub is a Jerusalem-born artist known for his eclectic artistic practice, which includes collage on paper; sculpture; autobiographical photography; figurative paintings depicting haunting figures; detailed line drawings of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
Mohammed Joha was born in 1978 in Gaza. His paintings, though playful in style and bold in colour, offer a critique of Arab and Western media bias and their (mis)representation of Arab culture.
Mohammed Al Hawajri was born in 1976 in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza. Between 1999 and 2001, Al Hawarji participated in the Darat Al Funun Summer Academy in Amman, Jordan led by Marwan Qassab Bashi, and in 2008 he received a grant to study at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.
Tayseer Barakat is one of Palestine’s preeminent artists whose practice over the past years has drawn inspiration from the ancient past, oral traditions, and cultural narratives that are intimately tied to life in Palestine.
Monther Jawarbeh was born and raised in Al Arroub refugee camp, in Bethlehem. His expressive portraits of Palestinian men whose nationality is marked by the keffiyeh they wear reflect Jawarbeh’s interest in expressing a collective Palestinian identity.
Raed Issa was born in Al Bureij refugee camp in Gaza in 1975. Portraying scenes of tragedy and bereavement that come with living under siege, Essa’s work is highly emotive. His portraits of young children, martyrs, and wounded bodies capture the vulnerability and tragedy of living in precarity.
Nabil Anani is one of Palestine’s most influential artists working today. Born in Latroun in 1943, Anani studied Fine Art at Alexandria University, Egypt and returned to his native Palestine, where he began a successful career as an artist and educator.
Suleiman Mansour is one of Palestine’s leading contemporary artists. He is best known for his 1974 painting Camel of Hardship, which depicts the concept of summud, or steadfastness.
Ayman Essa lives and works in Gaza. He obtained his BA in Fine Arts, specializing in Photography, from Al-Najah University in Nablus in 1999 and holds a Master’s from Helwan University in Egypt. His distinct color palette comprised of mainly blue, red and pinkish hues, defines his bold large-scale figurative paintings series. Focusing solely on the female form, Essa’s works are recognizable through their exaggerated, curvaceous forms and at times coquettish gestures. He has participated in several group exhibitions including The Path at Dar Al-Karameh Hall in 1999 and the Red Crescent Society in Gaza in 2001. His work has also been exhibited internationally, including the Biennial for Young Artists in Rome in 1999 and the We Will Become exhibition (2004-5) which involved ten artists traveling from Gaza to several cities in France.
Born in Palestine in 1980, Hazem Harb is a visual artist who has
lived in Gaza, Rome and the UAE.
Dena Matar lives and works in Gaza, where she received a degree in Fine Art and Education from Al Aqsa University. Her dynamic use of color and line offers an optimistic and hopeful view of life in Gaza, lending a psychological dimension to her paintings, rather than representing a region crippled by Israeli incursions and blockades. Despite her young age and the profound challenges of living under siege, she has made a vital contribution to artistic production in Gaza through her paintings and by acting as a mentor for artists. She is a member of the ELTIQA artist collective in Gaza City and has participated in several local exhibitions and workshops in Gaza in cooperation with A.M. Qattan Foundation, the French Cultural Centre, and other institutions. Matar’s unique style, which critics have likened to the colorful and unique compositions of Juan Miro and Pablo Picasso, has gained her international recognition. Her work has been exhibited in Switzerland, Geneva, France, and the Mosaic Rooms in London as part of their ‘Occupied Space’ exhibition in 2008. In 2012, she was selected to participate in the artistic residence in Paris, Cité Internationale des Arts.
Born in Kuwait in 1981, Amer Shomali holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Birzeit University in Palestine and an MA in
Animation from Bournemouth University in the UK.
Hani Zurob is an influential contemporary Palestinian artist, currently working in Paris. He is known for his affectionate paintings which are informed by the personal events that shaped his life – namely, his imprisonment by Israel in 2002 and forced exile from Palestine in 2006.
Resmi Al Kafaji was born in Diywania, Iraq in 1945. He earned a
degree in Art from the Institute of Fine Arts of Baghdad, then later
a diploma in Fine Arts in painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti
of Florence, Italy. His work is a merging of Iraqi and European
culture.
Born in Basra in 1974, Saddam Jumaily lives and works in Jordan. He has a bachelor degree in Plastic Arts and an MA in Fine Arts-Painting department from the Basra University College of Fine Arts, Iraq, where has also lectured in Fine Arts.
Born in 1955 in Hollywood, California to Iraqi parents, Maysaloun Faraj grew up between the USA (1955-68) in Baghdad, where she obtained a BSc in Architecture from Baghdad University 1973-78) and London, where she furthered her art education and where she has been living and working since 1982.
Born in 1953 in Baghdad, Nawal Alsadon graduated in 1980 in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, Romania. She began participating in group exhibitions in 1975, beginning with The Association of Iraqi Artists gallery in Baghdad, and since then has had her art shown in numerous exhibitions across the world, including in Romania, Yemen, Syria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Turkey.
Born in Baghdad in 1968, Serwan Baran is a graduate of Fine Arts from Babel University, a member of AIAP, the Iraqi Fine Art Association, and the National Art Association.
Nadim Kufi was born in Bagdad in 1962. Since 1994 he has been residing and working permanently in the Netherlands as a multidisciplinary visual artist.
Born in 1977 in Iraq, Sinan Hussein graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He is a member of the Iraqi Fine Arts Artist Society and of the Union of Iraqi Artists. Sinan Hussein’s whimsical characters seem weightless in an environment reminiscent of Limbo.
Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1966, Mahmoud Obaidi is an IraqiCanadian globally exhibited Avant-garde artist who deals with any medium that would best represent his concept: painting, sculpture, photography, installation.
Leila Kubba was born of a Swiss American mother and Iraqi father. She was educated in Baghdad and went on to graduate with a National Diploma of Art and Design from the Manchester School of Art and Architecture in the UK and also studied for a period of five years at the Corcoran College of Art in Washington DC, as well as taking courses in printmaking and painting at Saint Martins College, London.
Born in Baghdad in 1939, Dia Azzawi started his artistic career in 1964, after graduating from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. In 1969, Azzawi formed the New Vision group (al-Ru’yya al-Jadidah), uniting fellow artists prioritising the ideological and cultural aspects of art above any aesthetic premise.
Born in 1982, Athier Mousawi lives and works between Paris, London, and Istanbul, and holds a graduate degree in Communication Design with Illustration from Central Saint Martins, UK. In recent years Athier Mousawi’s work has centred on posing unanswerable questions against undefined answers, forming a visual narrative between the two. Since 2007, the subject of much of his work has been Iraq and his diasporic relationship to his foreign homeland, as well as the concept of nostalgic referencing in how we idolise and remember our past, present, and future. Separate to his artistic practice, Athier has worked extensively as an educator in the UK and abroad. For three consecutive years, beginning in 2007, Athier worked as a British Museum Arab Artist in Residence, working in schools throughout the UK. In 2011, he was selected to serve as the Chasing Mirrors Artist in Residence at the National Portrait Gallery, leading workshops in community centres across London. Athier has also worked in a number of refugee camps as a workshop leader in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, and in 2014 was invited by the Palestinian Museum as a Visiting Artist to conduct workshops with children in the West Bank. In 2015, he was selected to work at the artist-run interdisciplinary space Beirut Art Residency. Athier has participated in many solo and group exhibitions including in Beirut, Dubai, Geneva, London, Jeddah and Tashkent.
Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1960, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji lives and works in Amersfoort, Netherlands. In 1987, he received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad and a diploma in Graphic Design from CHK Constantin Huygens in the Netherlands.
Born in Theeqar, Iraq in 1958, London-based Hanaa Malallah is a visual artist and educator. She received a bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad, an MA in Painting, a Ph.D.
Born in Babel in 1965, Ahmed Al Bahrani is a contemporary Iraqi artist and sculptor. After graduating from the Fine Arts Institute in Baghdad in 1988, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1992-94. Relocating to Qatar in 1998, he co-founded Mimar Gallery with architect Hazem Abu Naba’a and has exhibited regularly throughout the Middle East and internationally. In recent years, he earned a significant following in the Gulf art scene, where he has been featured in some of the region’s most prominent commercial art spaces, such as Art Sawa Gallery in Dubai and Albareh Art Gallery in Bahrain. He has been commissioned for a number of public works in Iraq, Qatar and across the Middle East. Constantly evolving his artistic approach, he works across different mediums, including painting, printmaking and reliefs. He lives and works in Qatar.
Born in Kerbela in 1964, Fathel Neema is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, Bagdad and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague Royal, where he also completed a post-graduate course in graphic techniques from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of ArtiBrak, Voorburg and Pulchri Studio, The Hague. His solo exhibitions began in 1997 at Gallery Celeste, Wenen, Austria, followed by many others in Brunssum (1998), Berlin’s Pergamon Museum, Museum fur Islamische Kunst (2003), the Museum Swaensteijn, Voorburg (2003), Gallery Kolff Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands (2013), Stand Up Gallery with Jaco Putker, The Hague, the Netherlands (2013), Al Urgewan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2014), The Graphic Art Studio, Beirut, Lebanon (2015) and Almarkhiya Gallery with Qahtan lamina in Doha, Qatar (2015). Since 1995 he has participated in numerous international group exhibitions, including in Jordan, the Netherlands, Germany, India, Iraq and China.
Mahmood Shubbar was born in Babel in 1965. He received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Baghdad University in 1986 and later went on to receive his Ph.D. in Fine Arts.
Shaikha El Kutbi is a visual artist who works primarily in photography, drawing, and installation art. Her work is self-reflexive, exploring themes of self-awareness and perceptibility and often blurring the line between fiction and reality.
Al Anood Al Obeidli is an Emirati visual artist from Abu Dhabi, UAE, who works primarily in collage producing works that are almost sculptural in form. Born in 1990, this young artist received her degree in Visual Arts from the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, and in 2014 participated in the Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship Programme.
Born in the United Arab Emirates, Salama Al Mazrouie graduated from the School of Fine Arts, UAE University, and is a member of the Emirates Fine Art Society.
Born in Al-Ain city in 1981, Hamdan Bity Al Shamsi is a self-taught artist who works in collage, digital media, and photography, often mixing digital and more traditional techniques to highlight the effects of consumer cultural and technological shifts on artistic production.
Born in Al-Ain city, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1987, Saoud Al Dhaheri [RF1] joined the Higher Colleges of Technology Photography Club, and later the Emirates Photography Society, to pursue his artistic passion.
Born in Abu Dhabi, Azza Al Qubaisi studied in London where she received an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries HCT-CERT Abu Dhabi and a BA in Silversmithing, Jewellery Design, and Allied Crafts from London Guildhall. Often referred to as the Emirates’ First Jewellery Artist, Al Qubaisi produces wearable jewelry pieces and large-scale sculptural works that are influenced by the desert landscape of the United Arab Emirates and its rich ancestral past.
Ayesha Hadhir is an emerging Emirati visual artist working predominantly in textile, creating textured pieces – either embroidered materials mounted on screens or stand-alone larger-scale sculptural pieces –centralizing the materials she uses, namely brightly colored threads that are often left hanging and unstitched.