Combustions is a solo exhibition by Syrian artist Ahmad Moualla, one of the most influential artists of Syrian modernism and expressionism. The show presents a collection of his new artworks on paper he produced in 2023 using charcoal and such unconventional materials as fire and coffee. Being held at Fann À Porter, it will end on 12 April 2024.
In the exhibited art pieces, Moualla continues to explore themes of the relationship between the individual and the group to which they belong. Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction, consciousness and subconsciousness, the artist ponders the ambiguities which are part of our everyday lives.
Moualla’s silhouettes and familiar figures return to the compositions, filling them with their burning shadows. Delving into these themes, the displayed artworks question social dynamics. Calling for a reconsideration of socially rooted axioms, particularly in Arab society and through the process of war, the artist questions ideas of power, free will, and choices.
The exhibition’s title not only refers to the process used by Moualla but also to the experiences that each person has gone through at one point in their lives, and to the fires still burning in the human conscience. These unanswered questions are what the artist aims to answer through his works on display.
About the artist
Ahmad Moualla (b. 1958, Damascus, Syria) resides in his home city. In 1988, he earned his BFA in Visual Communications from the Damascus University of Fine Arts. The same year, he obtained an MFA from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris, France). Moualla lectured in the Faculty of Fine Arts (the University of Damascus) and worked on the scenography of various films and TV series, also designing many productions for the Syrian National Theatre.
Moualla was the first of his peers to introduce interactive performance to his work, what he calls a ritual, where the viewers become part of the work. He is famous for his dramatic large-scale paintings that explore the themes of the relationship between the individual, society, and its authorities; the power of past and today’s icons; and the conscious and subconscious mind. Moualla incorporates calligraphy in his artworks and thus pushes the boundaries between script and painting, playing around with the legibility of the words.
Since 1988, Moualla’s work has been the subject of multiple monographic exhibitions: Experiments (Galerie Mark Hachem, Paris, 2015); Word: The body of the dialogue (Municipality of Athens – Center of the Arts, Athens, Greece, 2010); New Works (Green Art Gallery, Dubai, 2009); and Ahmad Moualla’s Orient (Sultan Gallery, Kuwait, 2008), to name a few. Moualla has also participated in numerous group shows: Volta (New York, USA, 2019); Syrian Symphony: New Compositions in Sight and Sound (Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada, 2017); Art 15 (London, UK, 2015); Nightfall (MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts, Debrecen, Hungary, 2012); and many others.
The artist has received three awards: First prize at the Al Burda Prize (UAE, 2007), Grand prize at the Lattakia Biennale (1999), and First Prize at the Kieler Woche contest (Kiel, Germany, 1988). His artworks have been added to several esteemed collections, such as the Abu Dhabi Authority for Cultural Heritage (ADACH) (Abu Dhabi), Barjeel Art Foundation (Abu Dhabi), and SPM (Salsali Private Museum, Dubai), to mention a few.
To learn more about Combustions, please visit the official web page of the show.
You might also be interested in visiting Rest by Mohammed Kazem and Vikram Divecha.
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