“Though I embody the pace of [the] people, I am but a bystander who imparts everything around me to my paintings,” says Thaier Helal. He further explains his methodology as: “…the background or reference is my cognitive, sensory, psychological and moral component, and through it, I have mastered my way of expressing myself, and thus expressing specific things that affect the conscience and the mind.” He goes on to say how this allows him to choose “the appropriate situation, form, content, and moment to reveal feelings and ideas, no matter how abstract they may be.”
Born in Nasiriyah, Thaier Helal (1967) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University. Along with his artistic practice, he has influenced the development of local painting and emerging artists as a senior member of the Sharjah Arts Institute, and a professor at the Fine Arts College, University of Sharjah.
Helal’s compositions begin with a grid that serves as a base for several layers of mixed media in an attempt to recreate the physical and sensory aspects of the world around him. This distinct method of painting incorporates unconventional materials such as glue, sand, coal and found objects, blurring the line between painting and assemblage.
Helal has participated in international exhibitions at such venues as the Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah Third Biennale (Golden Grand Award), Busan Museum of Art, South Korea, Tehran’s Contemporary Painting Biennial, UAE Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh, Scope Basel, Art Paris Abu Dhabi, the Alexandria Biennial and Art Dubai, among others. A monograph on the artist was published by Ayyam Gallery in 2014.