Confluence of contradictions: Asaad Arabi harmonises seeming polarities

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Artbooth Gallery @ ground floor of Centro Capital Centre by Rotana, ADNEC area, Abu Dhabi, is hosting the solo exhibition of Syrian origin artist Asaad Arabi titled Still Life to Abstraction (Oct. 26 – Nov. 30). Accompanied by an artist’s talk during the inaugural, the event showcases the seminal works of Arabi, composed during 2008 – 2023. He is a prominent art theorist and critic who is also well known as an early innovator of contemporary painting in the Arab world. Throughout his artistic career, he has consistently reinvented his approach to painting, and the exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of his visual language and creative process.

Born in Damascus (1941), Arabi graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus, before moving to Paris, France, in 1975, where he received a diploma in painting from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts, and subsequently earned a PhD in Aesthetics from the Sorbonne University. His artistic journey is a testament to his enduring connection to Damascus, a city that has not only influenced his work, but continues to live within him. His fascination with cities and the profound impact of their residents on their culture has propelled him to explore chromatic processes, abstracted shapes and modernist figuration related to them in his art. Childhood memories of Damascus particularly serve as a wellspring of inspiration for the artist, infusing his paintings with a sense of nostalgia for his homeland.

Often, his compositions feature houses, which hold special significance, symbolising an emphasis on the ancient city and its enduring legacy. A closer look of at the work reveals not only a sense of longing for the vanishing city and its way of life, but also reveals poignant, abstract reflections on the broader Arab world. The reason why Arabi does this is because he connects painting to dreams. “We do not dream in squares, circles, or triangles, but rather in something related to the city, no matter how infused with the metaphysical it becomes,” he explains.

  Asaad Arabi is influenced by cities in his works.

As the region undergoes a dramatic transformation and grapples with debates over identity, culture and society, Arabi’s art serves as a mirror reflecting this dynamic. In various series throughout his extensive career, he skillfully employs composition and colour, creating a harmonious unity that runs through all his pieces. His abstract paintings depict humans and animals against a backdrop of encompassing, exaggerated colour.

He has continuously reinvented his painting style in an attempt to depict the rhythms and sensuality of figures and cityscapes. Oscillating between representation and abstraction and sometimes bridging them together, the colour fields and forms that make up his canvases have a lyrical quality. In fact, music as an inspiration or even as a subject has a recurring role in his work, since he has “always felt that there is an association between music and form. When I listen to music, I can imagine certain forms taking shape, and when I look at the city, I can feel the musicality in it.”

Arabi elucidates why he lives between the realism and abstraction. First of all, to distinguish between realism and abstraction is for him an “arbitrary division”. He gives the example of French-Russian artist Nicolas de Stael, to make his point. Stael, Arabi notes, “skillfully practiced” both schools of art. He would follow those footsteps. “Today”, says Arabi, “I find myself painting in a dual post-modern manner, separating the diagnostic expressive pictorial from geometric abstract artworks (with its lyrical and geometric combinations), guided by Willem de Kooning’s approach in the New York School and following in the footsteps of Nicolas de Stael in the existential Paris School.”

The artist adds that he did not reach abstraction except after the gradual destruction of the city’s ancient landmarks (Damascus - Sidon - Paris - Cairo, etc.). “Abstraction is the result of its comprehensive engineering, and the reduction of its alienated memory from its stories and myths,” he says. Arabi is not alone in this pursuit, as he says. “Other artists have embarked on a parallel journey, such as (Syrian painter) Nazir Nabaa, whose art simultaneously depicted abstraction and his Eastern influences (post-Raphaelism), as well as the prominent Tunisian artist, the master Rafik El Kamel, known for his daily abstractions and parallel orientalist paintings. This leads us to the American post-modern direction, where artists depict both giants of abstraction and realistic paintings, not to mention the pioneers of this trend, including even Pablo Picasso himself.” Arabi is therefore in good company and can claim a distinguished art lineage.

His works are prominently featured in public and private collections worldwide, including Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Barcelona Contemporary Museum of Art; National Museum, New Delhi; National Museum of Korea, Seoul; Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. Artbooth Gallery was founded by Roger El-Khoury in 2019, after 11 years of experience in the art field between Beirut and the United Arab Emirates. It aims to create a cross-cultural bridge between artists, audiences and collectors from across the world. The gallery is dedicated to promoting a wide selection of artworks and exploring new connections and partnerships. From emerging to established artists both at the regional and international level, it aspires to provide artworks best suited for the collector’s satisfaction. Services include fine art sales consultancy, second market art sales, archiving collections and curating exhibitions.