Organised under Ayyam Gallery custodianship, the exhibition serves as the first posthumous retrospective of the pioneering Syrian painter. Featuring a diverse selection of paintings and works on paper, Towards the Absolute of Nature highlights Fathi theoretical treatment of abstraction through several periods of his oeuvre. Archival materials and the artist's tools are also on display, including examples of the intricate stamps he used in later works.
During the second half of his career, Fathi developed a painting style based on a system of signs that he adapted from a variety of sources, such as the motifs of Bedouin textiles. Beginning in 1987, the artist researched traditional folk art throughout Syria then produced a series of carved woodblocks based on his findings. When applying his interpretive designs to a panel of dyed or bare canvas, Fathi used plant-based pigments in the tradition of fiber art practices.
