Khaled Akil
| Khaled Akil | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Education | Bachelor Degree from Faculty of Law and Political sciences, |
| Alma mater | Beirut Arab University |
| Occupation | Artist, Fine art Photography |
| Home town | Aleppo, Syria |
| Website | http://www.khaledakil.com |
Khaled Akil (Arabic خالد عقيل) is a Syrian Fine-art photographer and mixed media artist, born in Aleppo city, his work focuses primarily on critiquing war, religion and social turmoil in the Middle East.[1][2] He is best known for his controversial topics pointing out taboos in Islamic and Middle Eastern societies.[3]
Biography
Khaled Akil was born in Aleppo, Syria,[4] to a family with a long history of artistic and political influence. His father is the renowned painter Youssef Akil.[5] His great maternal grandfather is the Syrian author and historical figure Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi.
Khaled’s first exhibition was held in 2009, when at the time he was completing his bachelor's degree in Law.[1] His experience in law, politics and human rights played a major role in his artistic development and projections. Most of his works deal with topics related to the social, political, and religious discrepancies he witnessed around the region.[6]
In 2012, he held a solo exhibition “The Legend of Death”[7] in Istanbul, where he resides today[8] due to the escalation of the war in Syria.[9]
Technic
His work is a hybrid of photography and painting, with a digital final product. various layers, created in direct relation with the photographic work and the issue presented.[10]
What one sees when looking into Akil's images is a dual universe wherein creatures and symbols merge with the visual fragments of war and abandonment.
Khaled Akil subjects his original photographs to countless layers of manual intervention that ultimately result in digital prints. With their mixture of photography, painting, and sometimes Arabic calligraphy, the dense surfaces of the works make them expressive and strongly palpable.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2013 Chalabi Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey[11][12]
- 2012 Lahd Gallery, London, UK[13][14][15][16]
- 2011 Karma Art Gallery, Aleppo, Syria
- 2010 Mustafa Ali Art Foundation. Damascus, Syria
- 2009 Sarmad Art Gallery, Aleppo, Syria
Group Exhibitions
- 2016 Exhibited in Flight, West Branch Gallery, Stowe, Vermont, United States.[17]
- 2015 Exhibited in International Discoveries V, FotoFest, Houston, Texas, United States.[18] Exhibited in Woman Through The Eyes- Tajallyat Art Gallery, Beirut. Exhibited in In-Quest, Gaya Art Gallery, Sidi Bou Said. Exhibited in Voices from the Middle East, Art in Exile Festival, Washington, D.C.[19]
- 2009 Exhibited in From Aleppo with Love, Le Pont Gallery, Aleppo, Syria
Private And Museum Collection
References
- 1 2 "Lives". The New York Times Magazine.
- ↑ "Khaled AKil-Biography". Fotofest.org.
- ↑ "MRS.DEANE DREAMING: KHALED AKIL". beikey.net.
- ↑ "Artist Khaled Akil imagines Pokémon Go in ravaged Syria". Al Jazeera.
- ↑ "Biography". janetradyfineart.com.
- ↑ "PHOTOGRAPHY. BEHIND SYRIA'S WAR". freearabs.com.
- ↑ "FAREWELL IS NOT GOOD-BYE". mantlethought.org.
- ↑ "You Need to Be Looking at 'Pokémon Go in Syria'". The Creator Project.Vice.
- ↑ "Your Middle East's managing editor caught up with celebrated Syrian artist Khaled Akil who currently resides in Istanbul.". yourmiddleeast.com.
- ↑ "INTERVIEW: KHALED AKIL". artfridge.de.
- ↑ "Chalabi Art Gallery hosts Syrian artist Khaled Akil". culturedworld.com.
- ↑ ""Legend of Death" - Khaled Akil". lebriz.com.
- ↑ "Syrian artist's Hampstead exhibition explores nation in conflict". James Podesta. ham and high newspaper. 27 February 2012.
- ↑ "20 top exhibitions in 2012". islamicartsmagazine.com.
- ↑ "Photography exhibition 'Khaled Akil: The Unmentioned' at London's Lahd Gallery". islamicartsmagazine.com.
- ↑ "Lahd Gallery, Khaled Akil: The Unmentioned". saatchiart.com.
- ↑ "'Flight' takes off". stowetoday.com.
- ↑ "2015 Exhibitions". fotofest.org.
- ↑ "Art in Exile Festival: "Voices from the Middle East"". goethe.de.
External links
- You Need to Be Looking at 'Pokémon Go in Syria - The Creators Project, VICE
- Artist Khaled Akil imagines Pokémon Go in ravaged Syria | AL Jazeera EN
- "The Identity Thief"- Article by Khaled Akil | The New York Times Magazine
- Requiem for Syria: artist Khaled Akil on why his latest work is about peace, not war
- The Syrian Art World After 2011– presented by miriam cooke
- Khaled Akil joins art team for “Aleppo, Syria: Witness to an Ancient Legacy”
- The five hottest artists from the Middle East today
- Khaled Akil: storyteller. Revealer of truths. Armed to the teeth.