Raafat Ballan is a Syrian painter whose work bridges academic compositions with the current political and social strife of events in Syria and the Middle East. Stylistically the bold colors...
Raafat Ballan is a Syrian painter whose work bridges academic compositions with the current political and social strife of events in Syria and the Middle East. Stylistically the bold colors and hard lines of his paintings pay homage to modern masters, such as Picasso, while the subject matter expresses notions of hybridity and diaspora. In Theatre, a single seated figure dressed in black gestures ardently while gazing at a planted cactus in a corner of the flattened balcony. It is difficult to tell the gender of the figure and their expression is equally vague, at once smiling and melancholic. The scene is brightened by a central yellow rug, which offsets the heavy darkness of the figure. Like many others in quarantine, the person seems to have bought a plant as a means of distraction and responsibility in the absence of normal routine. Reflecting on the dichotomies of mundane quarantine life, Ballan injects despondency and isolation into a scene tinged with humor and optimism.
Ballan received a degree in Drawing and Oil Painting from Damascus University (2014). He has been an artist-in-residence in several institutions internationally and currently holds this position at AGALAB in Amsterdam. He recently exhibited in Stages of Life at SANAA Galerie, Utrecht (2019), Art Rotterdam (2018), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2018) and Tijdelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2017). In 2019 he was one of two winners of the Galatea prize in association with Galerie Pymalion, Maarssen. He exhibits regularly through “Just Shout,” an artist collaborative.