Adib Fattal

Adib Fattal was born in 1962 in Washington DC, US. He studied at the City University of New York, graduating with a BBA in International Marketing. Over the years he has travelled extensively, spending time in Europe, the US and the Middle East. 

Initially, Fattal embarked on a career in business but quickly shifted away, instead, to the world of graphic art. 

Joyful, dynamic and rich with vibrant colour, Fattal’s style melds primitive art with fantasy. In compositions that at times recall miniature Persian art, Palestinian craftwork and mosaic due to their detail, he spotlights villages and towns – both imaginary and real – and their inhabitants. Spanning farmers, fishermen and children playing or picking fruit, the people featured in his artworks are going about their everyday lives under bright blue skies, coexisting peaceably and doing simple tasks and activities with optimism and innocence. The backdrops of intricately designed buildings are symbolic of both their homes and homeland, offering identity and a sense of security, with the entire scenes brought to life through the use of acid-free felt pens. 

There is a sense that the artist is not only sharing his longing for a better, more harmonious world, but telling us that this is possible when people have the opportunity or “power” as he describes it, to make it happen. 

Fattal’s work has been exhibited extensively worldwide. Recent solo exhibitions include events at: Museum of Naïve Art, Moscow, Russia (2022/2021); Kondas Center, Estonia (2021); Street Gallery, Exeter, UK (2019); Atelier Fateh Mudaress, Damascus, Syria (2019); SV Gallery, Saifi Village, Beirut, Lebanon (2017); SV Gallery, Saifi Village, Beirut, Lebanon (2016); Babel Theater, Beirut, Lebanon (2013); Woodrow Wilson Institute, Washington DC, US (2013); Museum der Stadt Bad Ischi, Austria (2013); Mardin Biennial, Turkey (2012); Spontaneous Art Museum, Brussels, Belgium (2012); 4walls Gallery, Dubai (2012); Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington DC, US (2011); Islamic Resource Center, Wisconsin, US (2011); Solidere Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2010); Zamaan Art Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2009); Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon (2008); Otrebusy Museum of Folk Art, Warsaw, Poland (2007); Primitive Art Gallery, Krakow, Poland (2007); MM Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2006); and Safrkhan Gallery, Cairo (2005).

Fattal has also taken part in numerous collective and joint exhibitions, including, most recently: Jacaranda Images, Amman, Jordan (2023); Praha Insita, Katowice, Poland (2022); NAIVA, Bratislava,Slovakia (2022); Biennale Internationale d’Art Naïf et Singulier (2022); The Gallery of Everything, London, UK (2022); Biennale Internationale d’Art Naïf et Singulier (2020); Nabad Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2019); Art Naif Festival, Szyb Wilson Gallery, Katowice, Poland (2019); LiteHouse, London, UK (2019); French Cultural Center, Ankara, Turkey (2019); Art Naif Festival, Szyb Wilson Gallery, Katowice, Poland (2018); Armena Art Fair, Yerevan, Armenia (2018); Museo della Cultura (MUDEC), Milan, Italy (2018); Khan Asaad Basha, Damascus, Syria (2015); Gallery Espaces, Beirut, Lebanon (2014); All India Art Exhibition, Jaipur, India (2014); Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Turkey (2014); Delaware County Community College, Penn, US (2012); Peoples Gallery, Damascus, Syria (2012); Parallax art Fair, London, UK (2012); Ecolintannuelle, Cologny, Switzerland (2012); Khobar, Saudi Arabia (2011); Biennal Dever Art Fair,  Brussels, Belgium (2011); Washington DC, US (2011); Hammer Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2009); Camden Art Gallery, London, UK (2008); and Maktab Anbar, Damascus, Syria (2001). 

Fattal’s work has been cited by the International Exhibition of Self-Taught Art (INISTA) and is found in prestigious public and private collections worldwide. It has also been chosen for prints, including postcard collections. He lives and works just outside of Damascus, Syria.