Visual Artist | United Arab Emirates
Muhannad Kelani
Born in 1954
Artworks by Muhannad Kelani
About the creator
- Muhannad Kelani a visual artist from Syria, born in Damascus in 1955, used to reside in the town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus. I grew up in a family and an environment that did not prioritise art. Despite this, my passion for drawing emerged at early childhood driven by deep desire to imitate and create art. I found art as my escape, my way to understand the world, this determination led me to develop my talent, by educating my-self through books on drawing principles and foundations of drawing, and by immersing in the art community, not ending with excessive learning about art history, its schools, styles, and movements. Over the years I honed my skills to various mediums, including pencil, charcoal, wood, water colors, and oil. I started with portraits paintings, sketches recording everything I observe around me. I depicted the neighborhoods and historical sites of Damascus, serene nature escapes, surrealism, and replicating a renowned international artworks, and not ending with embracing a post-modern expressionist styles. and with the rise of Internet access, I turned to acquire more academic self-education, which enhanced both my artistic and general cultural knowledge. I have became also an art publisher where I publish about global art and its history and gained several recognitions from different global art organizations beside being followed from artists and arts Passionate's from all over the world. At my six decade and during the catastrophic events that struck my country, my home and art workshop was fully destroyed, and I lost all my life artworks, which forced me relocate seeking for a safer place, and could no longer continue producing art. The war's devastation made it difficult to maintain my previous level of artistic production, leading to significant psychological, moral, and financial challenges. This loss compounded by the trauma of witnessing my home and community's destruction, led to chronic stress, anxiety, and a deep sense of isolation. It was a process of adapting and adjusting to the immense challenges in the new environment. There was some anticipation of returning to the devastated place, hoping to salvage whatever might have survived but the possibilities were bleak. The trauma and stress of displacement hindered creativity, led to long-term creative blocks, identity crisis, questioning their self-worth and artistic voice. However, despite this hardship, I had to suppress the anger and pain inside me to rise again and mend the wounds of my shattered soul, answering the call of eager fingers and brushes to paint anew on the canvas of hope for a brighter life. I hence found solace in creating simple canvases and sketching in gardens and public places. I tried to revive my talent as i still found my therapy in art, my way of coping with the chaos around me. These small acts of creative expression helped him sustain my artistic spirit in times of deep distress. After several years of displacement until 2018, I could visit my home area, I rushed to check on dozens of different artworks I had created over the years of my productive life. Amongst the debris, I encountered the scattered remains of my tools and fragments of my once-vibrant artworks. I struggled to contain my emotions as I tried to navigate through the debris, grappling with feelings of grief and frustration. Despite the overwhelming confusing emotions, I managed to find two intact paintings covered under the rubble. After extracting them and wrapping them up, I left the place feeling disheartened, having lost hope of finding any others. I couldn't hold back my tears. Months later, in the city of Dubai, I found himself immersed in a new chapter of his artistic journey. Settled in a new safe environment, I committed myself to the theoretical study of art restoration online so I could go through the process of restoring my paintings involving several meticulous steps, that took me months to restore them and bring them to life again. A while later my son gifted my an exhibition space at the 10th edition of World Art Dubai where I could showcase my restored artworks to a global audience, and from this point I participated in several exhibitions and had a great involvement in the art community in Dubai. I have recently created several art works that depicted the UAE culture, beside fulfilling clients orders of creating portraits, and abstracts paintings. I also have created artworks related to theater themes after observing them during my attendance to several theater shows.
Masterpieces by Muhannad Kelani
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