Abdullah Murad

Painting by layering different styles, brushstrokes and even collaging mixed media onto his canvases, artist Abdullah Murad is considered to be one of the pioneers of abstract expressionist Arab Art. In an interview, he talks about his philosophy of spontaneous expression and playful enthusiasm, saying: “Art is like a dance. You keep moving and moving to whatever is going on.”

Born in Homs, Abdullah Murad (1944) graduated from the Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University; in 1970. Inspired by the rhythm of the Arabesque lines, Murad’s works are deeply influenced by fauvist colours and the Abstract Expressionist movement. The energy in his work, moves between frantic and condensed to calm and sparse, with asymmetrical composiIons that allow the gaze to flow through the work. Exploring the tension between balance and imbalance, Murad’s technique varies from thick slabs of paint to thin translucent layers, playing with textures and surfaces, adding collages composed of newspaper clippings or other media.

Murad's work has been in international exhibitions and at auctions and is housed in private collections and public institutions such as the Sharjah Museum, National Museum of Damascus, Dalloul Art FoundaIon and the Syrian Ministry of Culture.