Biography
Walid El Masri, born in Syria in 1979, graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 2005. He furthered his studies at the Summer Academy led by Marwan Kassab Bashi at Darat Al-Funun in Amman, Jordan. El Masri’s paintings, often featuring abstracted domestic objects like chairs, transform the familiar into sources of uncertainty and discomfort through animated brushstrokes and a sharp color palette. His work invites reflection on transformation and subjectivity.
El Masri’s recent works address Syria’s political shifts and the transformative effects of conflict, symbolized through paintings that depict the life cycle of a butterfly cocoon. He has participated in various group exhibitions, including the Art Beijing Contemporary Art Fair (2009), Art Hong Kong Art Fair (2009), The Busan Museum of Art (2014), Samsung Blue Square in Seoul (2014), and the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (2014). His solo exhibitions include Ayyam Gallery London (2014), Europia Gallery Paris (2014), Ayyam Gallery Jeddah (2013), Ayyam Gallery DIFC in Dubai (2012), and Ayyam Gallery Damascus (2008).
Artwork
