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Nayla Kai Saroufim

Nayla Kai Saroufim: Lebanese-Canadian Mixed-Media Artist

Nayla Kai Saroufim (b. 1982) is a Lebanese-Canadian mixed-media artist, art director and illustrator who was born in Beirut. She studied at Académie Lebanese des Beaux Arts (ALBA), Beirut, obtaining a degree in Illustration and Art Direction. Today, she is based between Beirut and Los Angeles.

Education at ALBA: From Illustration to Art Direction

Earlier in her career, Kai Saroufim worked in publicity at multinational advertising agencies before focusing solely on her art, and the influence of the time she spent in this field is evident in her practice.

Influences from the Advertising World

Kai Saroufim’s work is uplifting and positive, combining abstract and realistic elements with the influence of pop and street art in pieces that extend across various formats and materials. Her personalised technique fuses mixed media and installations in layers of steel, copper, wood and other elements which are combined and transformed into wall art, art toys and other collectibles. Colour and fluidity are hallmarks of her style and practice, with a bold, bright, palette to the fore.

“I strive to make my positivity and love of happiness appear in my art. I hope that by looking at my art, people will realize that there is beauty and happiness in the simplest things,” she has said.

Saroufim’s Signature Style: Bold Colours and Layered Media

Kai Saroufim’s artwork has appeared in galleries worldwide, showcased in prominent cities that include Beirut, Los Angeles, New York, Seoul, London, Paris, Madrid, Doha and Dubai.

Notable Solo Shows Spotlighting Saroufim’s Work

Solo shows spotlighting her work include: Exhibition at Rebirth Beirut (2023); ‘Joy In Narrative’, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles (2022); Jaques Oueiss Gallery, Beirut (2019); and Graffik Gallery, London (2015).

Saroufim’s Global Exhibitions: Beirut, Los Angeles, London, New York

Saroufim’s art has also featured in numerous group exhibitions, including, most recently:

Collective Exhibition, Fremin Gallery, NYC, New York (2025)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2024)
Hamptons Fine Art Fair, NYC, New York (2024
Walls of Art, Abidjan, Ivory Coast (2024)
Art Central Hong Kong (2024)
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York (2024)
QONTRAST, Fremin Gallery, New York (2024)
LA Art Show, Los Angeles (2024)
Art Palm Beach Fair, West Palm Beach, Florida (2024)
Scope Miami, New York (2023)
WE Design Beirut (2023)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2023)
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York (2023)
Affordable Art Fair Shanghai (2023)
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York (2023)
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York City (2022)
Design Week Marbella, Spain (2022)
‘Haut en Bleu’, Les Plumes Gallery, Beirut (2022)
‘Vivid Imagery Sculpture’, Mass Arts Gallery, Seoul, Korea (2022)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2022)
Eiwan Al Gassar Gallery, Doha, Qatar (2022)
‘Beirut- Rise from the Ashes’, Venice Biennale (2021)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2021)
Design Week Marbella, Spain (2021)
Affordable Art Fair NYC, New York (2021)
Pop up for Beirut, Josephine Clavel Gallery, London (2021)
Dessine moi un Cedre, Beirut (2020)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2020)
Artsfemin, The Palace, Gstaad, Switzerland (2020)
Azartgallery, Art Palm Springs, California (2020)
West Village Collective Exhibition, Azartgallery, New York (2019)
Contemporary Art RUHR, Gaudi Gallery, Essen, Germany (2019)
Beirut Design Week (2019)
Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, London (2019)
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (2019)
Singapore Art Fair (2016)
Asia Contemporary Art Fair, Singapore (2015), and
Beirut Art Fair (2014).

Selected Exhibitions

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead - 2019 in VC art / London / United Kingdom
Affordable Art Fair Battersea - 2019 in VC art / London / United Kingdom
Beyond Fashion - 2018 in / Beirut / Lebanon
Dubai Art Fair - 2017 in Sawa Gallery / Dubai / United Arab Emirates
Affordable art Fair - 2016 in Green Gallery / London / United Kingdom
Singapore Contemporary Art Fair - 2015 in Singapore Sana Gallery / Singapore / Singapore
Beirut, Love, Hate - 2015 in / London / United Kingdom
Beirut Art Fair - 2014 in / Beirut / Lebanon
Cities of Light - 2013 in Solidere / Beirut / Lebanon