L' ART BLESSÉ

Born in Lebanon in 1954, Raouf Rifai lives and works in Beirut. In 1982, he received a BA in Decorative Art at the Institute of Fine Arts in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1995, after receiving

a PHD in Urbanism at La Sorbonne I University in Paris, France, he began teaching in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Lebanese University in Beirut,

Lebanon.

Rifai has taken part in numerous Collective shows throughout Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Japan.

Rifai’s visual language combines abstract symbols with references to Middle Eastern cultural heritage such as the traditional “tarbush hat”, in very bright colours.

One of the recurrent themes in his work is that of the “Dervish”, a simple man evolving in virtual or real spaces. Rifai’s dervishes are as diverse and colourful as Middle-Eastern society itself, with their myriad of expressions, attitudes and emotions. He has also had more than thirty solo exhibitions since 1984, including his latest at Sana Gallery in Singapore.

In 2010, he was awarded the first prize of the Sursock Museum’s Salon d’Automne in Beirut, Lebanon. His artwork has also been successfully auctioned at Christies Dubai, as well as Ayam Gallery in Dubai.