Charles Khoury

Charles Khoury is an award-winning Lebanese artist who was born in Beirut in 1966 and studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA), graduating with a degree in Lithography. He has been a member of ‘Salon d’Automne’ at the Sursock Museum since 1995 and is also in the International Association of Fine Arts – UNESCO, Paris. 

Khoury admits to being something of a rebel in his teens, showing little interest in school subjects. However, all that changed during his early 20s, when he discovered art and what would prove to be his calling.

Beirut has been a major source of inspiration in his art, especially the civil war and key topical issues, such as corruption. Much of Khoury’s work through the 1990s was a reaction to the war, with his art offering him both an outlet for his anger and an escape from the horrors of the conflict.

Over time, there was a noticeable shift from his bleak, almost macabre compositions to works indicating glimmers of hope and optimism, and eventually a positive, uplifting aesthetic. Khoury’s compositions are known for their dynamic, brightly coloured part-abstract, part-representational subjects, brought to life in primordial, geometric shapes somewhat reminiscent of Cubism. 

The animal kingdom is a focal point in his paintings, with birds and an abundance of four-legged creatures with diverse features, playfully positioned against backdrops that include both nature, in the form of foliage and trees, and urban elements. In other pieces, distorted human figures set against a chaotic background remind us of the dehumanizing effect that conflict has on humanity. Khoury’s often thickly contoured, overlapping outlines in his subjects also relay a broader message of the need to strive for achieving coexistence and harmony. Alongside his paintings, the artist creates wooden sculptures of animals, finished in his hallmark shapes of vibrant colours.

Charles Khoury’s work has been exhibited extensively since 1989, featuring in solo and group shows, and art fairs, worldwide. Recent solo shows include: ‘Headway’, Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2022); ‘Identity’, Marie Jose Gallery, London (2021); The LT Gallery, Beirut (2021); ‘Charles Khoury 2019’, Orient Gallery, Amman (2019); ‘The Story in Shapes and Color’, Kiyan Art, Beirut (2016); Charles Khoury, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut (2012); and Balamand University and Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut (2009).

He has also taken part in several group shows, including, most recently: ‘Middle East Moderne & Contemporain’, Mark Hachem Gallery’, Beirut (2023); ‘Paper & Prints’, Artscoops (2023); ‘LEBANON | UNTITLED’, Artscoops, London (2023); ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, Artscoops (2022);’ Art for Chance’, Mark Hachem Gallery (2022); ‘In the Eye of the Beholder’, Artscoops (2022); and ‘35 Under 1000’, Artscoops (2022); Mark Hachem Gallery at VOLTA Basel (2021); ‘Pop up for Beirut’ by Marie Jose Honein at Josephine Clavel Gallery, London (2020); Beirut Art Scene, Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2020); Artspace Collective Show, Artspace Hamra, Beirut (2018); ‘Freestanding’, Artspace Hamra, Beirut (2017); and ‘Clin d’Oeil’, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut (2014).

Art fairs that have featured his work include: Art Dubai; Abu Dhabi Art; Bangladesh Biennale; Art 14 London; and the Beirut Art Fair. 

Charles Khoury received the Special Jury Award at ‘Salon d’Automne’ at the Sursock Museum in 2008. He also attended the ‘Artist in Residency - Lithography Workshop’ in Morocco (2013) and the 10th ‘Insight of China - Workshop for Well-Known Arab Artists’ in Hangzhou, China (2018). Khoury teaches Fine Arts at the Saint Joseph School, Antoura. He is a member of the Association of Lebanese Artists.