Asma Fayoumi

Asma Fayoumi was born in Amman, Jordan in 1943. She spent her early years as a painter in the 1960s, with the emergence of a particular movement of Syrian abstraction that was led by Italian artist and instructor Guido La Regina

A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, she worked alongside fellow students such as Assad Arabi, Faek Dahdouh and Sakher Farzat, who later became recognised as seminal artists. Her journey as a professional artist unfolded at one of the most critical periods of the regional art scene—when modernist schools first displayed evidence of a gradual transition into contemporary modes of representation and a charged political climate urged regional culture to lead societal change. 

A well-received solo show in Damascus in 1966 solidified her arrival on the local art scene. Since then she has been featured in countless solo and group exhibitions both in Syria and abroad and is acknowledged as a seminal female painter. Her career has paved the way for generations of female artists. Today, Fayoumi’s paintings are admired for their unique approach to depicting a range of subjects—from mythological figures to the stark realities of war. Her work freely reflects “explosive internal struggle,” lending it a profound sensitivity and intuition. From her early days of depicting scenes of Damascus using colorist principles of abstraction through to her more recent expressionist works that combine her signature style of layered and labored figurative compositions, Fayoumi has remained committed to depicting the world around her with fervent imagination.

The message from Asmaa Fayoumi:

“Seas of colours, ghosts of white, a lot of black and a mass of red. It is the burning of the heart and the rose of love. Motions of love to enter the deep of the soul. 

I believe in the religion of love”

Ibn Arabi

Since 1966 Asma has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Syria, Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon. 

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