Khairat Al-Saleh, born in Jerusalem and educated in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and Egypt, is a noted painter in the

Hurufiyya movement The Hurufiyya movement ( ar, حروفية ''ḥurufiyyah'', adjectival form ''ḥurufī'', 'letters' (of the alphabet)) is an aesthetic movement that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century amongst Muslim artists, who used their unde ...

and a ceramicist, glassmaker and printmaker.

Life and career

Khairat Al-Saleh was born in Jerusalem in 1940. She was educated at the University of Wales Swansea, where she studied English literature and poetry and works as a ceramist, glassmaker, printmaker and painter living between England and Syria. She is noted for her use of calligraphy and miniatures. Inspired by Arab and Islamic art, she experimented with the art of illuminated manuscripts,

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

and geometric design in her paintings, prints and ceramics. As a poet, her work is closely linked to illumination, illustration and the art of the book. Nevertheless, in her art she also explored the liberating effects of water color techniques, even digital art. She trained as a printmaker and ceramist in Richmond, but she is mainly self-taught as an artist. She has exhibited in London, several times at Leighton House Museum, and in many European and Arab countries. Presently she is producing works of art and writing under a pen name in Britain. She has also published a book which was translated to many languages, entitled ''Fabled Cities, Princes and Jinn from Arab Myths and Legends''. As a visual artist, Al Saleh works in ceramics, glass, prints and paintings (watercolours and gouache). All her work reflects her Arabic identity. The art historian,

Wijdan Ali Princess Wijdan Ali ( ar, وجدان علي) (born 29 August 1939 in Baghdad, Iraq) is a Jordanian artist, art historian, educator and diplomat. She is the ex-wife of Prince 'Ali bin Naif of Jordan. She is best known for her efforts to revive the ...

, classifies her paintings as belonging to the Neoclassical style within the Hurufiyya movement which means that she follows the rules of calligraphy established by 13th-century

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

calligraphers.

Work

Al-Saleh's work is held in major public art collections, including: * The National Art Gallery, Amman, Jordan * GATT Gallery, U.N., Geneva * World Museum, Rotterdam * Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan * Westminster Bank, London

Exhibitions

* 2001-2002: ''Contemporary Arab Art’', curated by Egee Art Consultancy, Londo, held at the Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, 6 June 2001 until the 24 March 2002 * 2004: ''Symbols of Harmony: Art from the Islamic World,'' curated by the Ayagallery and held at the Kent County Gallery, 3 January -29 March 2004Al-Ali, N. and Al-Najjar, D., ''We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War,'' Syracuse University Press, 2013, p. 40

References

External links

* Anne Mullin Burnham, 1994
Reflections in Women's Eyes
''Saudi Aramco World''
Official website
* http://wwol.inre.asu.edu/al-saleh.html * https://www.amazon.com/Fabled-Cities-Princes-Legends-Mythology/dp/0872269248 * https://books.google.com/books/about/Fabled_Cities_Princes_and_Jinn_from_Arab.html?id=Iz5LAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y {{DEFAULTSORT:Saleh, Kairah Al- Living people Syrian women painters Syrian women poets Syrian women ceramists People from Jerusalem Syrian ceramists Syrian painters Syrian poets Syrian emigrants to the United Kingdom British women painters British women ceramicists Syrian contemporary artists 1940 births 21st-century ceramists

Life and career

Work

Exhibitions

See also

References

External links