Fateh Moudaress

Fateh Moudaress

Also known as Fateh Al Moudares, Fateh Moudarres

Born in 1922 in Aleppo, Syria, Fateh Moudaress originally taught himself realist techniques. He travelled to study at the Academy of Fine Arts at Rome fin the 1950s and at the School of Fine Arts in Paris in the1970s. He died in Damascus in 1999.

He had become interested in Surrealism and Expressionism, and after completing his studies he returned to Syria and began to develop a technique drawn from the primitive and ancient arts of his country. His depictions of mysterious draw on the aesthetic of ancient Mesopotamian reliefs and Neolithic statuary.

Growing up Moudarres spent much time in the countryside, and he often depicted the landscape and everyday people. Their heads recall those of Assyrian statuary or figures in Palmyrene frescos. These characters are enriched with warm and earthy colours and executed in a variety of ways, sometimes with dense application of paint, sometimes scratched, or stippled, or with the addition of sand.

Surrealism and Sufism informed his work, and Muslim symbolism and early Christian iconography can be discerned there. He was profoundly affected by regional political events, most notably the Lebanese civil war, and used his art to raise awareness about such issues.

His works are private collections such as those of the Al-Hariri Family, the Collection of Rudolf and Maria Fechter and the Collection of Walter Scheel. His solo shows include Colour, Extensity and Sense in 2018 at MATHAF, the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar and a major retrospective at the Arab World Institute in Paris in 1995. His group shows include the 7th São Paulo Biennial in 1963 and the Venice Biennale in 1961.