The paintings of Lebanese artist Walid El-Masri relentlessly examine a single material subject matter – a chair – treating it as a point of departure for greater investigations into the fundamental components of painting and perception, and as a vehicle for experiments in palette and composition.  With a vanishing point that lies beyond the canvas’s edge, El-Masri’s chairs are depicted from obscure angles and rendered with rough contours, whilst the lower portions of his compositions are void. For the artist, this emptiness is a space in which one can forget everything.

Toying with depth and space, El-Masri’s work seeks to reconfigure compositional properties in order to explore the myriad variations that result from a repeated action. These variations in portrayal infuse the inanimate chair with a hypnotic power.

Born in 1979 in Syria, Walid El-Masri lives and works in Paris. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, his solo exhibitions include:  Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai (2012); Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz, Dubai (2009); Ayyam Gallery Damascus (2008).

Notes to Editors

About Ayyam Gallery

Founded by collectors and cousins Khaled and Hisham Samawi in Damascus in 2006, Ayyam Gallery sought to nurture Syria’s burgeoning and dynamic contemporary art scene through landmark non-profit initiatives such as the Shabab Ayyam Project, an incubator for emerging artists. Expansion into Beirut and Dubai enabled Ayyam Gallery to broaden its scope from the promotion of work by Syrian artists to those from the wider Middle East region. In doing so, Ayyam Gallery has established itself as one of the foremost exponents of Middle Eastern contemporary art to the international community.

Today, Ayyam Gallery is recognised as a leading cultural voice in the region, representing a roster of Arab and Iranian artists with an international profile and museum presence, such as Nadim Karam, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Sadik Alfraji, Afshin Pirhashemi and Khaled Takreti. A number of non-commercial exhibitions, as well as the launch of Ayyam Publishing, Ayyam Editions, and The Young Collectors Auctions, have further succeeded in showcasing the work of Middle Eastern artists with the aim of educating a wider audience about the art of this significant region. In 2013, two new galleries will open in London and Jeddah. Ayyam Damascus currently functions as a studio and creative haven for artists who remain in the war-torn city.

Exhibition Facts:

Preview: 3 December 2012, 7pm
Exhibition Dates: 3 December - 10 January 2013
Location:  Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai

For press information and images please contact:

Toby Kidd and Amy Sutcliffe at Pelham Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 208 969 3959
Email: toby@pelhamcommunications.com or amys@pelhamcommunications.com