Bassam
Ibrahim has adopted the "magical realism" style in most of his
paintings, employing symbol and magic as a main theme.In his
canvases he produces a dream-like sensation which inspires and
permeates his work, translating his visions, memories and
experience into balanced forms and colours. His pictorial
interest lies in depicting simple, everyday objects on a deeper
and more spiritual level, presenting states of happiness,
sadness, loneliness...
Large canvases
mean large spaces; he spreads personal inner feelings on the
canvas combining reality and dream by placing some elements in
unfamiliar settings, thus allowing the spectator to contemplate
new possibilities and experience new impressions: "Let the
viewer discover and interpret the meaning as he likes," he said.
He has worked with
different media since graduation, but his preference is for oil
paintings: "Oil on canvas lasts longer and that releases me
more," he admitted
At the
beginning of his career, he was captured by the magical powers
of nature with their mutual relation to religion and tradition.
First, he noticed the witch and how she tries to heal sickness
through signs and symbols, and to bring good luck by using
sounds and prayers, and how she plans for the future using
charms and fire. This influence then developed to play a role in
defining the relationships within social groups, where
particular laws with their own internal dynamics identify the
levels and forms of these relationships."The Orient has given
rise to diverse civilizations which adopted pagan religions, and
the Orient also gave rise to different nationalities, sects,
languages, customs and dialects which all coexist in a rich
cultural melting-pot. There is also the magical side which
formed a compact mosaic of pagan religions, sacred religions and
tradition. So I have taken this aspect to create a cultural
state in my paintings which sympathizes and interacts with this
concept," he explained.
The history of
art as a whole has influenced his artistic development - and
most art movements have played an important role in his career -
but the impressionists’ hermetic and dynamic light and shade has
been a particularly strong influence.
In addition,
his fondness for the Russian classics, like Nikolai Gogol and
Leo Tolstoy, and Latin American authors such as Gabriel Garcia
Márquez and Jorge Amado is another source of inspiration which
may affect his imagery through the settings, atmosphere,
background or the characters themselves. This influences his
perception giving rise to distinctive paintings with a very
personal style.
His recent
works have added a new aesthetic idiom to the Syrian art scene.
Although he is never totally satisfied with all his paintings,
there are many works that he loves because he feels that they
express his internal world adequately. In these works he could
touch and smell the scenes they portray.
Bassam Ibrahim was
born in Qunaitra in 1958, and graduated from the Faculty of Fine
Arts in 1985 (Visual Communications Department).
In addition to
his career as a painter, he has also developed a passion for
small sculptures and outdoors works with a very realistic and
personal style. He has also worked as a production designer in
films, plays and drama series.
Arts