Issa Halloum

Issa Halloum (b. 1968) is a prize-winning Lebanese artist who was born in Kuwait. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University in 1993, before continuing his studies in 1999 at the Brera Academy in Milan, where he focused on Artistic Anatomy. 

Halloum is known for creating picturesque scenes that celebrate nature and depict facets of everyday life in the region, in works that are intricately textured and completed in a broad palette of vibrant colours. His subjects range from the expansive, tapestried green fields of the Bekaa and bustling market crowds to fishing boats coming ashore and carefully tended pot plants on a brightly coloured balcony. Shades of azure depict both the Mediterranean waters that are home to bathers and fishermen, and the charming, peeling paint of a wall showcasing a delightful display of flowering plants, while farm animals and trees, complete with fruit, are set against a dazzling golden meadow.

Marked by movement and light, Halloum’s works have a freshness about them that roots the pieces in the present, but also gives them a touch of nostalgia. Both the vibrant palette and brushstrokes recall the work of the great post-impressionist masters. 

“When Issa Halloum paints his environment, one feels the need to immerse oneself into the fields and experience the peacefulness of the land surrounded by nature’s colours of hope.  A beautiful experience, a symphony for the mind orchestrated by the eye,” one critic has commented.

Halloum’s work can be found in several prestigious private collections locally and worldwide. His art has been shown extensively in Lebanon, including at the Salon d’Automne, Sursock Museum, as well as in Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Italy. 

Recent solo shows include: ‘Passion for Colors’, LAU, Sheikh Zayed Hall, Beirut (2023); ‘Brilliance of Nature’, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2021); Al- Markhiya Gallery, Doha (2020); Alwan Gallery Saifi, Beirut (2018); CAP Gallery, Kuwait (2017); Alwan Gallery, Saifi, Beirut (2010-2015); Haigazian Art Center, Beirut, (2009); Alwan Gallery, Kaslik (2001-2004); and the French Cultural Centre, Beirut (1998).

Halloum has also participated in several group shows, including, most recently: ‘Regeneration’, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2021); ‘Comeback 2020’, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut (2020); Sursock Museum, Beirut (2017-2018); C&I University (First Prize), (2009); Alwan Gallery, Saifi, Beirut (2004-2008); National Museum, Kuwait (2001); ,For the Sake of Jerusalem, Damascus (2000); ‘Human Rights Movement’, Baalbeck, Lebanon (2000); Commune di Milano, Milan, Italy (1999); Salon du Printemps, Unesco, Beirut (1996); International College, Beirut (1996); and Salon d’Automne, Sursock Museum, Beirut (1994-1996).