Elizabeth Khoury

Short Biography

Elizabeth trained in Celtic Studies before completing a fine art MFA, a sequence that established the research-driven methodology at the core of her practice. Her work in this period took her to residencies at Halka Art Project in Istanbul and Waaw in Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 2013, both contributing to the project 'The Book of Journeys, Part 1: Economic Exile'. She has since built a dual career as artist and curator from Valencia, where Bloom Gallery has become a platform for cross-cultural exchange between Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and European artists. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Metaphysics at Thomas Francis University, Florida, extending the philosophical and symbolic inquiry that informs her studio work. As a writer, she has published under both her current and previous name, Elizabeth Hefty, producing poetry, non-fiction, and critical essays that run in parallel with her visual practice.

Education

Elizabeth holds an MA in Celtic Studies with distinction from the University of Wales, Lampeter (2010), where her thesis focused on mythology and cultural memory, and an MFA in Fine Art with a focus on non-figurative painting from the Art Institute in San Francisco (2012). She is currently pursuing a PhD in Metaphysics at Thomas Francis University, Florida, begun in 2024.

Exhibitions

Elizabeth's recent solo exhibitions include 'The Sacred and the Profane' (2025), which examined the intersections of spiritual, cultural, and personal identity through folklore, ritual, and symbolic imagery, and 'Where Roots Meet Water' (2026), a current exhibition exploring belonging, inheritance, and liminal landscapes through painting, drawing, textile work, and installation. Her group exhibition history includes 'Juxtaposing the Random' at De Souza Gallery, Valencia (2024), 'The Human Condition' at Arneli Gallery, Beirut (2023), 'Plastic Fantastic' at Bloom Gallery, Valencia (2023), and 'Levant/e' at Bloom Gallery (2022).

Artistic Style

Elizabeth's paintings and mixed-media works explore mythology, grief, gender, and cultural identity through fragmented, often faceless figures that carry emotional and cultural ambiguity. Her process begins with sustained research and writing, drawing on comparative mythology, literature, and cultural history before moving into visual experimentation. Ancient symbols are reinterpreted within contemporary contexts, and the body functions throughout her work as a primary symbolic site. The resulting pieces are conceptually layered and emotionally direct, sitting at the intersection of visual poetry and scholarly inquiry.

Additional Information

Elizabeth co-founded and co-directs Bloom Gallery in Valencia's Mont Olivet neighbourhood, which she has developed into a programme of exhibitions, workshops, and collaborative projects with artists from the Mediterranean and Middle East. Her curatorial projects include 'El Mar' (Valencia, 2022) and 'From the Land of St George to the Casa del Dragon' (Cervera del Maestre, 2022), a collaboration with De Souza Gallery and Arneli Gallery. Her published works include 'The Sacred and the Profane' (2025), a companion essay collection to her solo exhibition; 'Here Be Dragons' (2024), a non-fiction exploration of lake monsters in Wisconsin; and 'Witches and Wolves' (2019), a poetry anthology, all published under her previous name, Elizabeth Hefty. She contributes regularly to Beirut Today and The Art Pulse and has been featured in Curatorial Magazine. A forthcoming article on urban legends is due to appear in Raseef22.