Omar KHOURI

Profile

Born in 1978. Graduated from Massachusetts College of Art - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration in 2002.

Since 2006, I have been exploring the language of sequential art in one of its native forms, Comics. I founded Samandal Comics, the first experimental comics magazine in the Arab world, in 2007 with 4 of my colleagues and have since been immersed in the exploring the possibilities of "Arabic" picture stories. In October of 2010, my socio-political comic strip "Utopia" was awarded "Best Arabic Language Comic" at the Algerian International Comics Festival (FIBDA). Recently, I have returned to painting, and am preparing for a solo exhibition in May in Mahattan, USA.

Recent main activities are
Places I Know, Les Halles, Brussels, Belgium, 2011
Samandal Original Artwork Exhibition, 2010, Dar el Musawwer, Beirut, Lebanon 2010
Lucca Comics Festival: Exhibition of Lebanese Comics Artists- Lucca, Italy, 2010
Algerian International Comics Festival (FIBDA), Algiers, Algeria, 2010
ComiXculture, 5 Open Art Space, Sofia, Bulgari, 2010

About works / performance

My work is focused on exploring the language of sequential art. Using this language allows the study of a subject simultaneously through their progression in space/time, as well as through an absolute perspective where all moments and multiple angles can be viewed at once. Coupled with the use of text, this unique duality of perspective has the potential to provide endless insights into a subject, whether it is a person, object, place or abstract concept.

In painting, this has led me to a form that lives between Comics and Cubism. These pictures describe my subjects over a period of time, whether it is a few seconds or a number of months, in pursuit of a more "complete" or "truthful" image of them.

Self-portrait (Imposed Q-bism)
2011, oil on canvas, 120 cm x 120 cm

A Superorganism Is Born II (Maya and Hatem)
2011, oil on wood, 156 cm x 52 cm

Study For A Portrait of the