KHALIL HASSAN KHALIL (B. 1958), UNTITLED

signed Khalil Hassan in Arabic and signed and dated KHALEEL.H.KH 1989 in English (lower left)

oil on canvas

84.5 by 109 cm. 33 ¼ by 43 in.

Executed in 1989.

Khalil Hassan Khalil was born in 1958 in Jizan. One of the oil paintings which he recalls seeing for the first time in elementary school was also by an artist from Jizan. This artist was to become one of his first teachers in school. He later notes the influence of various Arab artists whose oeuvres captured simultaneously their ways of life and the global influences of the contemporary art scene.

Khalil himself describes his style as ‘Dreamism.’ Influenced by Surrealism, his works centre around realistic scenes which meld into ethereal images, such as in the present work; we see an anonymous, bejewelled female figure foregrounding a moon being anchored to the landscape. Khalil pays homage to his family for encouraging his artistic career; his first exhibition was held in his parent’s courtyard whilst he was still in school. Following his studies in 1976 at the Art Education Instituted in Riyadh, Khalil relocated to Jizan where he became an art teacher whilst also continuing his artistic training.

Khalil has exhibited both in a solo and group capacity, locally and globally. Among these are the Contemporary Saudi Art Exhibition (1979); Great Saudian Exhibition (1980); the Seventh Exhibition of Arab Plastic Artists, Kuwait (1981); the Eighth Arab art exhibition, Kuwait (1983) the Third Cairo Biennale (1988); as well as shows in Europe and North America.