Asaad Zakari
Born in Damascus, Assad Zakari 1930 and died in 2020. Studied art in Alexandria at the studios of Egyptian artist Saif Wanley and Italian artist Autorino Becky, drawing models from 1952 to 1953. This was accompanied by a degree in civil engineering from the University of Alexandria in 1958. Zakari's artistic style was influenced by folk art and its aesthetics - a visual and literary heritage that tells stories of love, war and courage. Using graphic shapes and shapes, his paintings feature linear boundaries separating colors, combining composition with a sense of fluidity.
Zakari worked and held individual and collective exhibitions over more than 50 years, and played an important role in the Syrian modernism movement. In 1956, his solo exhibition at the National Museum of Damascus was a defining moment at the beginning of his career. In 2021, a retrospective celebrating his long career was published with essays from leading artists and critics.