Khaled
Takreti "I am a Teenager Again"
Solo Exhibition & Book Signing
at
Ayyam Gallery, Beirut
Wednesday, 31st of March, 2010
Press
Cocktail: 6pm-7pm
Vernissage: 7pm-9pm
Some Works of the artist Khaled Takreti
From
March 31 till May 26, 2010 Ayyam Gallery, Beirut
will proudly present the solo show of Syrian artist
Khaled Takreti. Presenting an electrifying new body
of work, the artist's bold, cutting-edge canvases
are sure to rock the regional art scene.
Born
in Beirut in 1964, Takreti studied architecture
and design at the University of Damascus before
working for the General Directorate of Antiquity
and Museums in Syria. He has been a practicing architect
and an exhibiting artist since the mid 1990s. With
a love for drawing that began at an early age and
years of formal training, he traveled to New York
in 1995 where he was engaged with global art trends
for two years. After returning to Syria, he moved
to Paris in 2004, where he has remained ever since.
His work has been featured in numerous solo and
group exhibitions in the Middle East, Asia, Europe
and the US and is housed in such notable collections
as the Syrian National Museum of Art and the Jordan
National Gallery of Fines Arts. This will be his
second one-man show with Ayyam gallery.
With
an artistic background that has its roots firmly
planted in a number of locales, Takreti has honed
a painting style that resists purported cultural
borders and speaks in international terms. As the
artist confirms, "The travel and mix of cultures
between East and West enrich and add something to
the quality and depth of my works." Artistically
fearless, he toys with the limits of contemporary
art while tapping into the traditions of several
significant art movements. Whether situating his
subjects in a nondescript setting or one in which
a narrative is formed amidst a particular environment,
he often turns to his architectural training to
balance a composition. The result is a play on perspective
and geometry that is reminiscent of that seen in
16th century Italian Renaissance paintings. The
flattening of space that is found in his work has
its roots in European modernism, another period
of art that he admires.
However,
at the same time, Takreti is thoroughly contemporary,
with an approach to painting that can only be found
in our current state of globalization. An unconventional
thunderous palette, an uninhibited use of popular
culture, fashionable figures and a developed sense
of space and design make for campy yet sophisticated
works. His compositions are also frequently sparse,
relying on visual markers and the psychological
inferences of his subjects to draw in the viewer.
Despite
the striking nature of his work, Takreti's art is
deeply personal and highly introspective. "My
painting is like a diary to me," says the artist.
"Scenes of my life are summarized in it. The
heroines and heroes are taken from my family and
friends; the scenes are experienced or desired;
that is the reason why the characters can be real
or fictional." While previous paintings explored
notions of memory and time inspired by the loving
familial relationships of the artist's childhood,
his recent work proceeds to his 1970s adolescence
in Damascus. Bright, colourful canvases with a psychedelic
feel speak of a particular carefree existence. Of
this latest series the artist explains, "The
general theme is my teenage years: I play, I jump,
I dance, I am with my friends, and finally I am
surrounded by my family. Some scenes are also warm
and full of love and humour." Not only has
his palette become increasingly daring, his figures
now seem to leap from the canvas with an irresistible
flamboyance. Takreti has become all the more ambitious.
With this greater confidence has come a vibrant
new body of work that is refreshingly original.
Ayyam
Gallery, Beirut
Beirut Tower, Ground Floor, Zeitoune Street
Across from Beirut Marina
Solidere
Beirut, Lebanon
T:
+961 1 374450/51
F: +961 1 374449
E: beirut@ayyamgallery.com
Monday
to Saturday, 10 am to 8 pm
