ArtDayME: Asaad Arabi, one of the Arab world’s most prolific artists, has a new solo exhibition at Artbooth Gallery – and you can check it out now.

"Still Life to Abstraction" will be on display at the art gallery in Centro Capital Centre near ADNEC until Thursday November 30.

Arabi is a prominent contemporary artist since the 1980s, and a pioneer of contemporary painting in this part of the world. The Lebanese-origin artist’s works are defined by powerful brushstrokes, with life forms against backdrops of exaggerated colour. 

Artbooth gallery is open between 10am and 7pm from Monday to Friday, and until 3pm on Saturdays. 

About Asaad Arabi

A prominent art theorist and critic Asaad Arabi (1941) is well known as an early innovator of contemporary painting in the Arab world. Born in Damascus, Asaad Arabi graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, where he studied under the Italian artist and instructor Guido La Regina, leader of a new abstractionist school. Following his move to Paris in 1975, Arabi received a diploma in painting from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts, and later earned a PhD in Aesthetics from the prestigious Sorbonne University. His subsequent studies, essays and critiques have been widely published in both French and Arabic, elevating the painter to the rank of prominent art theorist.

Childhood memories of Damascus serve as an wellspring of inspiration for Asaad Arabi, his lifelong fascination with Damascus: familiar theme in his repertoire and one he repeatedly comes back throughout his long career. Arabi’s paintings consists of strong sense of nostalgia for his homeland. In this captivating collection Arabi’s works capture the essence of Damascus which he lived in and still lives in him. Arabi utilizes his palette to interpret the sounds of his city's alleyways and run-down dwellings. With powerful brushstrokes and great precision, his abstract paintings depict humans and animals against a backdrop of encompassing, exaggerated color. These houses occur frequently in Arabis compositions, where an emphasis on the ancient city fixes ideas of a vanishing past.

Selected solo exhibitions include Ayyam Gallery Jeddah (2013); Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai (2011); Ayyam Gallery Beirut (2010); Ayyam Gallery Damascus (2009); Cairo Biennial (2004); Sircov Gallery, Brest, France (2003); Kuwait Museum (2003). Arabi’s works are housed in public and private collections such as Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; the Barcelona Contemporary Museum of Art; the National Museum, New Delhi; the National Museum of Korea, Seoul; Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.

About Artbooth gallery

Founded by Roger El-Khoury in 2019, after 11 years of experience in the art field between Beirut and the United Arab Emirates, Artbooth 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 andexploring new connections and partnerships. From emerging to established artists both at the regional and international level, it aspires to provide artworks best suited for any collector’s satisfaction. Services include fine art sales consultancy, second market art sales,archiving collections and curating exhibitions