Tuesday, April 30th | 11:00 - 12:30
Location: The Palestinian Museum
Language: Arabic

Join us in a conversation with the artist Mohamed Saleh Khalil in dialogue with the artist Rafat Asad. They will discuss Live Broadcast, Khalil’s exhibition that is included in the This is Not an Exhibition artistic demonstration being held at the Palestinian Museum. The meeting discusses the experience of the artist Khalil and will include an overview of “Mohamed Saleh Khalil”, a book that covers the artist’s most significant works and includes some contemplative articles on his art. All proceeds will be allocated to Gaza’s artists.

The exhibition embodies the annihilation of Palestine ongoing for decades, through paintings that we can date back at will: to ten years ago, twenty, fifty, seventy-five, and under any overarching topic of our choice: The First Intifada, the Second Intifada, the war on Jenin Camp, one of the wars on Gaza, or even the ongoing genocide today. The artist connects those witnessing the genocide in Gaza from afar to those bearing witness up close, conveying their voices through paintings bursting out of their frames, manifesting in flesh and blood.
 

Mohamed Saleh Khalil

Khalil was born in Al-Zarqa, Jordan in 1960 to parents from Al-Walaja, near Bethlehem, and raised in Damascus. In 1988 he received his MA in Fine Art from Dresden, Germany, specialising in painting, etching, engraving, and printing techniques.

He returned to Damascus and held his first solo exhibition before moving to Nicosia, Cyprus, where he spent the next 5 years developing his skills and participating in several solo and group exhibitions. The year 1996 had a great impact on his life, as Khalil was able to return to his homeland for the first time in his life. He settled in Ramallah, where he established his studio and founded the Young Artists Forum, where he taught art to talented children and teenagers. He also heads the Fine Arts Program at the Ministry of Culture.

Inspired by German Expressionism, Khalil paints with wide brush strokes and carefully selects the colours to be distributed across his large paintings. The themes of his works are inspired by daily events taking place in Palestine and around the world.
 

Rafat Asad

A Palestinian artist who was born in Nablus in 1974, Asad earned his bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a focus on painting from Al Najah University in 1998. Although a painter first and foremost, Asad is a multi-disciplinary artist, producing light and sound installations and video art and performances. Taking abstract painting as a point of departure, his work has evolved to focus on the Palestinian landscape. As a result, Asad’s more recent work became unique and somewhat minimalist in style.

Asad participated in group exhibitions including; The 11th Havana Biennale, Cuba (2012); Colors of Life, Zawyeh Gallery (2014); The First Alexandria Symposium for Mediterranean Arts, Alexandria, Egypt (2015); and many other notable group exhibitions in Palestine, Europe, Japan, the U.S and the Arab World.

His works have been shown at solo exhibitions, including various venues such as Visions and Abstracts, the Child Cultural Center, Nablus (1999); Narrative, the A. M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah (2006); Maps, the Delfina Studios, London (2006); and a solo exhibition, Marj Ibn Amer, at Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah (2015).

Rafat Asad also participated in many art workshops and residencies such as the residency program in cooperation with Delfina Studios Trust, London (2006), Slade School of Art, London (2012); and Cite des Arts, Paris (2015). Additionally, he was part of the Shatna workshop in Jordan (2007); and the summer arts workshop in Styria, Austria (2009). Rafat Asad was the co-founder and artistic director of Al-Mahatta Gallery, chair of the board of directors of the Balata Cultural Forum, and a member of the Palestinian Artists’ League.
Asad lives and works in Ramallah.

*Mohamed Saleh Khalil, Dying series #1, 2024. Mixed media on canvas, 100 x 80 cm.