Edward Shahda

"I've always been obsessed with drawing… the shape of the human body fascinates me; I work with it in my painting… Colour is my greatest passion… a small spot of colour can have an enormous richness of drama and expression; and create a visual tension,” replies Edward Shahda when asked about his life’s work.

Born in Damascus, Edward Shahda (1952) studied at the Suhail Ahdab Center in Hama and the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Damascus University, before undertaking a residency at the Anatoli Klankov Atelier in Russia. Inspired by folk tales, myths, and local icons, Shahda’s almost spiritual themes range from Assyrian figures and Palmyrian sculptures to the lives of poets to even Islamic ornaments.

Edward Shahda has had work exhibited at international solo and group exhibitions in Syria, Russia, Lebanon, Egypt, Dubai, Turkey, the US, Canada, France, Switzerland and China. Notable international exhibitions include the Alexandria Biennale, two editions of the International Biennale Beijing and the Institut du Monde Arabe exhibition in Paris.