Raafat Ballan (1990)

CV

Kunsthal Museum/Home is where art is/Rotterdam2022 -Big ART/ Amsterdam/2022 -Art The Hague/2022 -Art Utrecht/Rondje singel/ 2022 -Kunst Rai/ Amsterdam /2022 -Samaa SANAA/Galerie SANAAUtrecht/2022 -Egypt INT’L Art fair/ Cairo/ 2022 -Art The Hague Galerie SANAA/2021 -Land Huis Oud Amelisweerd/Bunnik/2021 -A Sense of belonging/ Galerie SANAA/ Utrecht /2020/2021 -Art In Isolation/ Middle East Institute/ Washington/ USA/2020/2021 -ARTISTINTHEWORLD/Galerie Larik/ Utrecht/2020 -Art Utrecht/ Galerie SANAA/ Stadshuisbrug/Utrecht/2020 - SEE-SAW/ Just Shout #4/ Galerie 21/ Hamburg/ 2020 - SEE-SAW/ Just Shout #3/De Kersenboomgard/Atelier route /Utrecht /2020 -Amsterdam Art week/ Art fair 2020/ -Summer At Galerie SANAA/ Utrecht /2020 - AGALAB/ Calibrations Works with Sophie Steengracht/Amsterdam 2020 -Stages of Life Galerie SANAA / Group exhibition / Utrecht / 2019 -Galerie Pygmalion / Galatea Prize 2019 / Short list exhibition 2019 -5&33 art’otel Amsterdam / Group exhibition / 2019 -De Utrechtse boekenbar / Just Shout / Group exhibition 2 / Utrecht / 2019 -Galerie 21 / Hamburg / Group exhibition -Platform look / Just Shout Group exhibition / Amsterdam / 2019 -Herman van Veen Arts Center / Soest / 2018 -Stedelijk Museum/Amsterdam/ Give us the Museum / Group exhibition / 2018 -Art Rotterdam / APKAR / Installation & Group exhibition / 2018 -Galerie Drentsschildergenootschap / Assen / 2018 -Kryon Gallery / Amsterdam Dialogues, with Tanar Yilma |2017 -Tijdelijk Museum / Group exhibition / Amsterdam / 2017 -Art West / Amsterdam / 2016 -Life, Death & Art in Syria / Den Haag / 2016 -De Bieb / Wassenaar / 2016 / Solo exhibition -De Peper / Amsterdam / 2016 / Solo exhibition -Ministry of Economy / Den Haag / 2016 -Galerie 21 / Hamburg / 2018 -Kennedy Van Der Laan / Amsterdam / 2016 -De Fabriek / Zaandam / 2016 -Amunt Turk / Istanbul / 2017 -Old Damascus / Damascus / 2014 -Culture Center As’Suwayda / 2013

Biografie

In his paintings Ballan distils scenes of family life into discrete compositions, snapshots of isolated figures in the presence of absence, with bold colours that tinge these paintings with playfulness. The gestures of these figures are captured by heavy paint strokes over brightly saturated surfaces. The forceful encounter between spectator and subject that these expressions produce conveys a moment of truth: a moment that reveals its initial impact, which in its turn is often grounded in the tensions Ballan experienced in his country of birth.

Raafat Ballan’s paintings are essentially transcending tensed domestic situations and victims of violence in Syria into stilled compositions with isolated figures. More specifically, the body of works presented in this exhibition is a painterly reflection of a suicide bombing attack in the city of As-Suwayda (Sweida), Syria, coinciding with a series of raids on seven villages east of the city in the night of 25 July 2018. Killing almost 200 people, the bloodshed event is now better known as the ISIS massacre in Sweida.The city of Sweida is also the home of a branch of the Damascus University College of Art, where Ballan studied painting. Founded in 1960 the College of Art went through several phases. From the typical post-colonial experimentalism in painting and sculpture in the beginning, it became under the influence of (former) Sovjet social realism in the times of the Assad regimes. Because of the turmoil in Syria, many among its (former) student population moved out of the country or have taken refuge – often into Europe. Ballan’s work is in many respects a balancing between acquired academic skills and a response to the coalescence of events spurred by the strife in his homeland and hometown. Whereas his work stylistically pays debts to canonical modern masters, such as Francis Bacon, Ballan’s attitude feels more akin to Syrian colleagues in the diaspora, such as the late Marwan Kassab-Bachi (1934-2016), better known as Marwan, who spent most of his life in Berlin. Ballan is also active as organizer of exhibitions together with a small group of artists who gather under the name ‘Just Shout’.

Pers

Film about Raafat Ballan and his solo exhibition in SANAA, produced by Art Forever.

Film A sense of belonging featuring Raafat Ballan produced by Artforever