The Cultural Service of the French General Consulate recently organized in collaboration with “Le Cercle des Amis de la Culture Française” (The Club of French Culture Lovers) an exhibition dedicated to a collection of abstract paintings by Saudi artist Ahmad Hussein Al-Ghamdi at the French Consulate in Jeddah. “The organization of this exhibition and similar monthly initiatives are part of our ambition to facilitate the interaction between French and local artists and promote intercultural exchange,” said French Consul General Louis Blin at the exhibition's opening event. “Al-Ghamdi is a distinguished and renowned artist in Saudi Arabia and abroad. He participated in several personal and group exhibitions in Dubai, around the Mediterranean and Europe including Alexandria, Lyon, Bordeaux and Paris. Today he presents in preview at the French Consulate his new abstract collection comprising 13 oil on canvas paintings,” added Blin. After adopting a half abstract and half figurative style in his two previous collections depicting women's faces and Saudi villages, Al-Ghamdi focused here on a more abstract and less figurative technique using mainly brown, yellow and black colors. “The emotions that colors provoke are relative. White, for instance — which I intensively used in one of my previous collections and is usually associated with purity and beauty — reminds me of my mother's death and gives me sad feelings. It's difficult for me to explain the symbolism behind my paintings as I tend to follow my instinct and mood during the creative process without rationalizing too much,” said Al-Ghamdi. “I come from a small, arid and mountainous region called Al-Bahah located in the south of Saudi Arabia not far from Asir. The colors and tradition of my hometown and land have so deeply penetrated my soul that they probably come to the surface when I express myself in creative forms. And today, even though I can't speak French, I will be able to communicate with all of you at a subtler level through my paintings and the universal language of art,” added Al-Ghamdi. The Saudi painter displays this collection of abstract and symbolic paintings for the first time. Particularly fascinating are three canvases showing a stylized figure of a woman walking on a black background, two indefinite faces representing a couple and a village at night slightly outlined on a black background dominating the overall scene. “All these abstract images and colors come from my imagination and dreams that I tend to manifest without restraints. They indirectly refer to episodes and places that have signed my life and that I like to express metaphorically, avoiding plain meanings and matter-of-fact descriptions,” added Al-Ghamdi, who started painting in 2001 and approached a variety of styles before finding inspiration in the abstract art. Al-Gamdhi has already held two exhibitions in Jeddah this year. Several colleagues of his — including renowned Saudi artists Hisham Binjabi, Ola Hejazi and Rabea Akhrass, creator of some of the most famous Jeddah sculptures including “The White Horse” — have consistently participated in this new exposition. To learn more about Ahmad Hussein Al-Ghamdi and his collections, please visit his personal website at www.tshkeel.com.
