Artist Elias Izoli depicts life in Bashar Al Assad's Syria as a sad circus

Artworks combine the vibrant colours and motions associated with clowns and trapeze artists with a distinct sense of helplessness
Razmig Bedirian, The National News, October 23, 2025

Razmig Bedirian interviews Elias Izoli about his current solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery.

 

The article explores Izoli’s sudden return to painting and how it coincided with the fall of the Syrian regime. His characters stand as a testament to those who have endured the last decade and a half of conflict, masking their pain and suffering behind a façade of bright color and the circus theme that usually evokes joy.