Alaa Sharabi

Twisting and combining figures, the expressionist work of Alaa Sharabi has a poetic and dream-like quality. He describes his work as “a state of dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious… a balancing process between symbols and visual visions.”

Born in Damascus, Alaa Sharabi (1988) studied printmaking at Damascus University, where he later worked as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts. His work combines alternately colourful or dark palettes with energetic lines and complex compositions. His crowded, fleshy figures and animals are composed of grouped forms, outlined in black and rendered flat with a gestural hand.

Sharabi has participated in numerous exhibitions and taught printmaking workshops in Syria, as well as internationally, including at the Beirut Contemporary Art Fair; Contemporary Global Art Fair Fabriano, Italy; Sharjah Art Foundation; Singapore Art Fair; National Historical Museum, Tirana, Albania; Printmaking Biennale, Russia; and a group exhibition travelling throughout Canada.