DUBAI.- Green Art Gallery announces the first solo exhibition in the UAE for renowned Syrian painter Ziad Dalloul. Organized in collaboration with Atassi Gallery, Damascus, the exhibition opened on November 13th and will be on view until January 5th 2012. A reception was held on the 13th of November from 7 - 9 pm in the presence of the artist.

Considered to be among the most accomplished Arab painters and printmakers, Dallloul’s works merge contemporary disciplines with traditional materials such as ink, sepia and handmade paper. The subjects of his work involve stagnant, commonplace domestic objects such as chairs and tables, which are placed on the foreground of landscapes depicting nature’s virility in some form. The landscapes depicted in the works, often recollections of those found in his birthplace Syria, are however accompanied by characteristic dark masses of color. Through exploring the dichotomy between that which is still and that which is ever-changing Dalloul challenges convenient definitions associated with both the Orient and the Occident while simultaneously referencing art history’s relationship to still-life. The show features several large-scale paintings including a triptych, which was featured in this year’s Sharjah Biennial, works on paper, and a series of etchings from the artist book entitled “The Book of Cities“ made in collaboration with Syrian poet Adonis.

Ziad Dalloul (b.1953) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus in 1977. He went on to study at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where he works and lives. His work has been widely exhibited in Europe and the Middle East including the Sharjah Biennial (2011), L'Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (2005) and the Shoman Foundation in Amman (1997).