FADI YAZIGI

One of the Arab world’s most fascinating contemporary artists, Fadi Yazigi first began drawing as a child and has never looked back. Born in Syria, Yazigi studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University, gaining a bachelor’s degree in fine arts specialising in sculpture in 1988. He still lives in Damascus today with his family and works fulltime at his studio in the old city. Producing a range of works from painting to sculpture to reliefs that all mirror each other in terms of subject matter and, for the most part, focus on everyday life in Syria. Yazigi regularly casts his sculptures in bronze, and they often depict people as underdeveloped creatures or as half-human beasts. As a figurative painter, Yazigi’s work revolves around people and human emotions with a nostalgic sensibility towards the individuals that he encounters. A strong facet of his work is experimenting with new materials and techniques, allowing him to continuously increase the range of his oeuvre.

Yazigi’s art is housed in numerous public collections including The British Museum (London), The Delfina Foundation (London), Kaleemat Foundation (Istanbul), A.M. Qattan Foundation (London) and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (UAE), as well as private collections throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the USA. In 2007, Yazigi was the Delfina Foundation artist-in-residence, Middle East representative (London); his lecture at The National Gallery, Poussin’s Sacraments - Rites of Passage and Continuing Creativity, was delivered in the same year.

Solo exhibitions include Art Paris Art Fair (Paris 2016), Yallay Art Gallery (Hong Kong 2015), The City Hall (Thessaloniki, Greece 2015), Galerie Tanit (Beirut 2015), Darat Al Funun (Kuwait 2014), The Mosaic Rooms (London 2011), Ayyam Gallery (Damascus 2009) and Al Bareh Art Gallery (Bahrain 2006). Collective exhibitions include Galeries de Verre “L’Art en Marche” (Bordeaux 2015), Institut des Cultures d’Islam (Paris 2014), Meem Gallery (Dubai 2013), BIEL Center “Syrian Art” (Beirut 2013), Athr Gallery (Jeddah 2013), Europe Art Expo (Geneva 2006) and Dead Horse Gallery (Cleveland 2000). He has also participated in a number of international events and art fairs including; Art Paris, Abu-Dhabi Art, Art Dubai, Art Palm Beach, Beirut Art Fair and Sharjah Biennale.