Balsam Abo Zour

Balsam ABO ZOUR (b. 1982) A Lebanese artist, Abou Zour was born in Tannoura in the Bekaa, and raised in Chouf, spending much of her life on a remote farm in the mountains. A promising student, her work caught the eye of the Lebanese painter and printmaker Mohammad Al Rawas, who taught her at the Lebanese University. He invited Saleh Barakat, the owner of the Agial Gallery, to view the young artist’s work, which he described as “bold, intuitive, courageous”. The invitation led to an exhibition in 2010 at the Agial, titled ‘Phantasmagoria’, with others following. In her unusual work, Abou Zour breaks down her world into pieces and reconstructs it in a way that reflects its inescapable truths. She does so by using her own tools and with more than a hint of dark humor.