Painter
Souad Mardam Bey
Throughout her prolific career as one of the renowned contemporary artists of the Arab world, the Syrian painter Souad Mardam Bey is an observer, a quality she draws from her life in many countries and vast cultural interests. Born in Damascus, she spent her childhood and adolescence in Beirut where she studied philosophy at the Lebanese University in Beirut. She then lived in Montreal for three years, and finally established herself in Cairo in 2001.
Mardam Bey comes from a cosmopolitan family of art, literature, politicians and intellectuals, where Syrian-Kurdish, Albanian, German threads intertwine. Naturally she draws many influences from the cultures, nationalities, customs and people she has come across. She then transfers all those encounters, histories, and experiences into emotions and to the canvases. Combining east and west in her creative journey, Mardam Bey’s boundless reservoir of stories have been exhibited in the most prestigious international halls: Damascus, Beirut, Kuwait, Cairo, Paris, Washington, Jeddah and Montreal; topped with group exhibitions in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, US, Mexico and Argentina. Many of her paintings make it to the private collectors, and are sold at Christie’s alongside the great names of modern and contemporary Arab artists.
Leaning towards expressionism on large canvas, Mardam Bey’s works also carry a big dosage of imagination, often inviting abstract strokes to her oils. She is not confined to one style, one technique or one palette. Mardam Bey assimilates life freely and freely portrays her understanding of it. Described by the critics as mysterious, melancholic, enchanting, Mardam Bey’s forte lies in her ability to seize those emotions through her unique and highly versatile technique serving her subjects.
Mardam Bey’s ability to observe and her passion for discovery are equally expressed through her application of color, shades and light – tools that allow her to capture the mood. Same regarding her strokes, that oscillate between long lines, sharper streaks or even pointillism – depending on the emotion she wishes to communicate
