Omran Al-Kaysi
Encyclopedia
Omran Al-Kaysi is an award-winning artist
, historian
and art critic
. He currently writes for the daily Lebanese newspaper, Kifaharabi and is a correspondent to a newspaper in Saudi Arabia.
father and Lebanese
mother, Kaysi studied law
and art in Baghdad
and Sofia
, Bulgaria
.
, Amman
, Madrid
, London
, Ontario
, Jeddah
and Riyadh
. In 2002, Kaysi was one of the main organizers for the Khiam
symposium
in Southern Lebanon.
in Mount Lebanon
, whilst another in Lebanon's Ministry of Education. Another two painting of his are in Tehran
's presidential palace, in addition to the other being in the Boston Museum of Modern Art.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
. He currently writes for the daily Lebanese newspaper, Kifaharabi and is a correspondent to a newspaper in Saudi Arabia.
Early life
Born to an IraqiIraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
father and Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
mother, Kaysi studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and art in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
Exhibitions
He has held both individual and group exhibitions across Lebanon, in Beirut, Saida and Kaslik, as well as abroad in Baghdad, MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
and Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
. In 2002, Kaysi was one of the main organizers for the Khiam
Khiam
'Khiam' is a town located in South Lebanon Governorate, near the city of Nabatieh. It is located in Southern Lebanon, 750 meters above sea level, 120 km away from Beirut and roughly four kilometers from the Israeli border.The town was the scene of a major confrontation between the Israeli...
symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
in Southern Lebanon.
Achievements
Kaysi has managed to display his paintings in Jeddah International Airport, another wall painting in Beiteddine PalaceBeiteddine Palace
Beiteddine Palace is a 19th century palace in Beiteddine, Lebanon. It hosts the annual Beiteddine Festival and the Beiteddine Palace Museum.- History :...
in Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
, whilst another in Lebanon's Ministry of Education. Another two painting of his are in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
's presidential palace, in addition to the other being in the Boston Museum of Modern Art.
Publications
Kaysi is the author of several publications on modern Arabic art with themes of both love and war, these include:- Abd-Elhalim Radwi and the Modern Saudi art
- A book about Aref Elrayyes
- "Road to peace"
- "Close to home"
- "Sophism in Islamic art"
Published poems
- "Silence Does not Disturb the Dead", published in the early 60s.
- "Talking to trees that resemble men I used to know"
- "Verses not fit for publication" (a poem which criticizes the former ruling dictatorship of the Baath party in Iraq)