Louay Kayali ( ar, لؤي كيالي), (20 January 1934 – 26 January 1978) was a Syrian modern artist.

Biography

Kayali was born in

Aleppo, Syria )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

in 1934 and studied art in the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The offic ...

after having studied at the Al-Tajhiz School where his work was first exhibited in 1952. He met Syrian artist

Wahbi al-Hariri Wahbi al-Hariri-Rifai ( ar, وهبي الحريري آلرفاعي; 1914 – 16 August 1994) was a Syrian American artist who has often been called "the last of the classicists". As an artist he was remarkably prolific in the last years of his li ...

there and the two would share a friendship for the rest of Kayali's life. Al-Hariri would become his mentor as he was for artist

Fateh Moudarres Fateh al-Moudarres ( ar, فاتح المدرس; 1922–1999) was a Syrian painter and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Syria. Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, where he was influenced by Surrealism. ...

that Hariri introduced to Kayali in 1955. Moudarress and Kayali would together represent Syrian modern art at the Venice Biennial Fair. He suffered from depression and died in 1978 from burns incurred from his bed catching fire, reportedly from a cigarette.

Return to Syria

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1961 and returned to Syria where he started his career as a fine arts professor at

Damascus University The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

where

also taught. That same year, the International Modern Art Hall of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

hosted his exhibit of 28 oil paintings on canvas and 30 sketches.

Posthumous exchanges

In 2009, Bonham's Auction House sold one of Kayali's paintings for $132,000. In 2008,

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

auctioned off several of his paintings: *''Portrait of a Lady'', $34,600 *''Motherhood'', $157,000 *''The Laundrette'', $43,000 On April 16, 2013,

sold two of his paintings as part of the Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Part I auction (Sale 8061) in Dubai *''Boy Reading'', (Lot 7), $135,750 *''Big Boy with Watering Can'', (Lot 9), $159,750 On October 25, 2011, Christie's Dubai sold his work titled "''Fisherman in Arwad" for'' $194,500 which is the highest auction sale price as of March 16, 2016

Tribute

In 2019, he was featured as a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

on what would have been his 85th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayali, Louay 1934 births 1978 deaths People from Aleppo 20th-century Syrian painters Syrian artists Kayali family

Biography

Return to Syria

Posthumous exchanges

Tribute

See also

References