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Oussama Diab

The Toy

Palestine

|

Painting

‘In the Name of Freedom’ will feature a selection of his latest paintings. Oussama Diab’s exciting Pop and graffiti-inspired expressionistic canvases employ symbolist interpretations of current events and concerns. Candor, yet playful, this juxtaposition reflects a duality prominent in all of Diab’s work.

All featured on nondescript patterned backdrops, the subjects take center stage. Diab’s paintings incorporating balloon-headed figures and darts playfully depict fate, violence, and the ease some have in taking life.

New Pieta reconfigures Michaelangelo's Pieta sculpture. While beautifully and accurately depicting Michaelangelo’s masterpiece, Diab has added a new level of interpretation and propagandized the work with the placement of a keffiyeh around the head of Christ.

In the triptych Contrast, a fully clothed woman has her head covered with a scarf and is blindfolded while on either side of her, as if enjoying spa treatments, two women have their eyelids covered by cucumber and kiwi slices and their hair covered with towels. Humor enters the work with the carefree idea of a spa and fruit, yet it is the simple difference of circumstance that defines whether these women are engaged in a free act or constrained by it and the reference is that all three women are imposing blindness upon themselves.

Perhaps the most challenging message is carried by Diab’s Human Being. Depicting a banana pierced throughout with nails on a light-hearted floral background, Human Being, denotes the crucifixion, pain, and temporal issues, leading the viewer to ultimately question his own mortality.

Born in 1977, Palestinian artist Oussama Diab has quickly gained rank within the Middle Eastern art scene. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus in 2002, he has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the region and has been honored for his work with several awards from the distinguished Young Artists exhibition in Syria. Since his debut show with Ayyam Gallery Damascus in 2009, his work has continued to impress critics, while several successful sales at Ayyam Auctions have garnered the artist great recognition among regional art loversFrom September 17 until October 30, Ayyam Gallery DIFC is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Palestinian artist, Oussama Diab. ‘In the Name of Freedom’ will feature a selection of his latest paintings. Oussama Diab’s exciting Pop and graffiti-inspired expressionistic canvases employ symbolist interpretations of current events and concerns. Candor, yet playful, this juxtaposition reflects a duality prominent in all of Diab’s work.

All featured on nondescript patterned backdrops, the subjects take center stage. Diab’s paintings incorporating balloon-headed figures and darts playfully depict fate, violence, and the ease some have in taking life.

Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD98 Oussama DIAB ‘Untitled’ 130 X 130 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2010
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD99 Oussama DIAB ‘Untitled’ 150 X 130 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2010
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD101 Oussama DIAB ‘The New Sin – Adam and Eve’ 180 X 180 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD103 Oussama DIAB 'White and Red' 150 X 180 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD104 Oussama DIAB 'The Wisdom of Flowers' 150 X 150 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD107 Oussama DIAB ‘Divine Hand – The New Crucifixion’ 130 X 150 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD108 Oussama DIAB ‘Prison (1) – Ashkelon’ 150 X 150 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD109 Oussama DIAB ‘Divine Hand (2)’ 150 X 170 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD110 Oussama Diab 'The Toy' 150 X 170 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD111 Oussama Diab 'The Toy' 150 X 170 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011
Oussama Diab: Tho Toy
OD112 Oussama Diab 'The Creation' 140 X 200 cm. Mixed Media on Canvas 2011

biography

Oussama Diab

Oussama Diab

Born in 1977, Damascus, Syria
Lives and works in Damascus, Syria

The large, colourful canvases of Palestinian artist Oussama Diab employ pop-art and childlike imagery as a means of exploring global political concerns. Balloons, bananas and water guns function as symbolist interpretations of current events - in contrast to the universality of their nondescript background. Both figurative and abstract, Diab’s compositions relay stories of love and hate within a conflicted society.

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Oussama Diab: After the war 2019

Gallery image: After the war 1 | Mixed media | 20 x 20 cm
main artist's page

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