ON SHOW: The paintings on display at KAC in Katara Cultural Village, Building 5. Photo: Umer Nangiana
By Umer Nangiana
Amusing yet poignant, his paintings depict the contrast between reality and the appearance that real life humans put up to conceal their sadness and pain within. The seemingly comical characters have been put through situations where they have to hide their true emotions and to cloak their sadness.
What causes this dichotomy of appearances is the “human frailty that prevents us from revealing our weakness, sadness or pain so we hide behind humour, laughter and playfulness,” says Syrian artist Adel Khalaf, who has masterfully created these characters on canvas currently on display at Katara Art Centre (KAC) and Al Markhiya Gallery for the exhibition, ‘Minus 40, Part 2’.
Adel, who is residing in Doha, has embarked on an in depth journey to explore the connection between emotions and the forms they take. “Despite ourselves, we use this absurdity to confront tragedy. My portraits and ensemble sketches contain all the core elements of artificial playfulness yet they expose the veneer to reveal the pain beneath,” says Khalaf.
About his charcoal, pencil and acrylic artworks, he says they deliberately impose a dark, bleak vision directly contrasted by the incongruous humour in each piece. “The work in my current exhibition exposes the unique masks of deception our characters wear innately, using subtle absurdities to hint at this subversion,” says the artist.
Born in 1979, Adel Khalaf hails from Derik City in Al-Hasaka province of Syria. Adel discovered his love for art when he encountered Arabic calligraphy and drawing in his childhood. Having completed high school he moved to Damascus to study art at The Faculty of Fine Art, majoring in visual communication.
Simultaneously, he studied painting at the Adham Ismael Institute, for two years. Following his graduation, Adel moved to Qatar in 2006, joining the Graphic Design field, while continuing to pursue his love for his craft by working on his own projects. To date he is fully engaged in his field as a professional and as a painter who passionately follows his dreams.
The other artist showcasing his work at the exhibition is talented young artist, Waseem al-Marzouki, also a Syrian. His artworks that resemble architectural blueprints from a distance reveal a completely different conceptual design.
Fighter jets, tanks, armoured vehicles and bombs constantly zooming in and out of targets draw the viewers in to establish their own connections in his drawings which are done through mixed media on paper.
Al-Marzouki was born in Al Raqaa, Syria in 1982. He graduated with a BFA from Damascus University in 2007. In 2012, al-Waseem studied cinematography at the Global Cinematography Institute in Hollywood, California. He has held solo shows at the Institut des Cultures d’Islam in Paris, 2014; Souq Waqif Art Center, Doha, 2009; and Goethe-Institut, Damascus, 2007. He has also participated in group exhibitions in Italy, UK and Qatar.
Al-Marzouki has worked extensively with film and has held screenings of his work at various festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival, 2011; Tehran Film Festival (winner of Silver Award), 2009; and the Damascus Film Festival, 2008, where he showed ‘Story from Damascus’, a short film he directed and produced. He currently lives and works in Doha.
The exhibition is running till the end of this month.
