Maaloula (2016-17) by NIZAR SABOURDalloul Art Foundation
Born in the city of Latakia, Syria, in 1958, Nizar Sabour graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting and Drawing, in Damascus, in 1981. He was taught under prominent modernist Syrian artists such as Fateh Moudares, Nazir Nabaa, Elias Zayat and more.
After the assault over the district of Qalamoun in Syria with its religious and historical cities, Nizar Sabour created the series Qalamoun that the artwork Maaloula (2016-2017) is from.
It portrays the city of Maaloula, a town northeast of Damascus, built into the rugged mountainside and where the old Aramaic language (the language of Christ) is still spoken to date. This city witnessed its churches and old icons burned by the fighting militias.
Sabour used his ashes and olive mill pomace mix, creating a thick, solid, and dark presence to the mountains surrounding the city.
The icons and religious figures, are gathered on the frame to form a protective shield around the city.
Nizar Sabour is a prolific artist who transferred the spiritual details of his homeland into painterly projects, and, at the same time, retracted this spirituality exclusive to the places of worship and made it accessible to the viewers.
From the full biography of Nizar Sabour by Fadia Antar
