Ammar Al Beik

Biography

Born in Damascus, Syria in 1972, Ammar Al Beik's artistic career stems from unconventional roots. Although graduating from the University of Damascus with a degree in business administration, his love for photography intensified while working at a camera repair shop for ten years. It is there that he received his formal training in the medium, exploring various methods and approaches while becoming an expert in photographic equipment. He has been exhibiting his photographs since the mid 1990s, at a time when he simultaneously began an impressive career in filmmaking. Taking his cinematic works to the international stage, he has earned critical acclaim from audiences and juries across the global and has been honored with a number of awards. Having participated in screenings worldwide since 1999, his films have been featured in such prestigious events as the Venice and San Paulo International Film Festivals. His invitation to the 63rd Annual Venice Film Festival was a first in the history of Syrian cinema. In just a little over a decade he has become one of country's leading filmmakers.

Never abandoning his original interest, he has continued to work in photography despite the great success he has found in cinema. Equally accomplished in both genres, his photographs have been shown in venues throughout the Middle East, Europe and the US. Since joining Ayyam gallery in 2007, Al Beik has been impressing viewers and critics alike through such notable exhibitions as "Shabab Uprising," "Black vs. Color" and the "SCOPE Art Fair (Basel)".

As a result of his great artistic range and background, Al Beik's photographs possess a cinematic quality that can only be found amidst the portfolio of a seasoned image maker. Forever embracing experimentation, he works with an assortment of techniques. Often materializing in the form of large ultra chrome prints on canvas, his photographs toy with the manipulation of light and contrast and delve into the art of visual storytelling, holding the narrative of his subjects up with careful scrutiny and heightened sensitivity.

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Artist Press

Ammar Al-Beik, Under The Shadow of the Idea  April 2008

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Ammar Al-Beik "Frame by Frame", Canvas Magazine  May 2008

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Ammar Al-Beik, Behind the Success Story of 'they were here'  April 2008

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Artist Exhibitions

Basel (SCOPE)  8 Jun - 14 , 2009
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Shabab Uprising  19 Feb - 19 Apr, 2009
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Black vs Colour  16 Oct - 30 Nov, 2008
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Ammar AL-BEIK, Solo-Exhibition  1 May - 19 , 2008
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Artist Publications

Ammar Al Beik
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Ayyam Editions

Ammar Al-Beik
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Selected Works

AB26 Ammar AL-BEIK "Still Life1" 110 x 110 cm. Archival Print on Cotton Paper Edition of 7, 2008

AB27 Ammar AL-BEIK " Still Life2" 110 x 110 cm. Archival Print on Cotton Paper Edition of 7, 2008

AB28 Ammar AL-BEIK 'Basic Instinct' 110 X 140 cm. Archival Print on Cotton Paper Edition of 7, 2008

AB29 Ammar AL-BEIK "The Strong Believers" 110 x 140 cm. Archival Print on Cotton Paper Edition of 7, 2008

AB32 Ammar AL-BEIK "Gold Medal" 110 x 110 cm. Archival Print on Cotton Paper Edition of 7, 2008