Ayyam Gallery Dubai DIFC will present Material World, the solo exhibition of Syrian artist Kais Salman. Known for his bold, expressionist explorations of human subjects, Salman is currently gaining the attention of regional art critics and collectors as he challenges notions of beauty and comments on our ever-growing dependence on materialism.
This has been most evident with his highly acclaimed Fashion Series, a daring body of work that is at once provocative and introspective with its jarring portrayals of scantily clad women. The artist’s latest canvases continue to undermine purported social norms, as his disfigured anti-heroines are disrobed, standing vulnerable to the viewer’s penetrating gaze. In these works we find a noticeable departure from earlier paintings, as the background is simplified, Salman’s palette is more subdued and his female protagonists are given robust forms.
These sparse elements are intentional, as he seeks to focus our attention on the stark state of alienation in which his subjects exist. Stripped of their identities through constant exploits in vanity, they lay bare to the world, alone with nothing more than their physical and psychological nakedness. This makes for shattering visual commentary.
Born in Tartous, Syria in 1976, Kais Salman graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts Damascus in 2002. Since then he has become a prominent member of a young generation of Syrian artists that is currently transforming regional painting. Featured in countless group exhibitions in Syria and the Arab world, including the 4th Annual Youth exhibition in Damascus, where he took first prize, and the inaugural exhibition of the Damascus Museum of Modern Art, Salman has been a regular fixture of high profile shows. Recently, he has become essential to Ayyam Gallery's lineup with well-regarded solo shows and his participation in such standout events as its "Shabab Uprising," "Young Collectors Auction" and “Beirut Sale.” A favorite among collectors, his work is housed throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
