Khalid Khreis’ painting depicts a swarm of multi-colored dots against an ochre background. Filling up the canvas, the dots are painted in contrasting colors of brown, blue, red, and white. Facing different directions, they are closely packed together, forming repetitive patterns throughout the composition. Each repeated dot is of variable, albeit comparable, size.

In his typical abstract expressionist style, Khreis allows his subconscious to flow freely onto the canvas. The creation of this artwork is a meditative gestural application of acrylic on canvas. The repetitive motion of painting the dots creates a rhythm that is reminiscent of Sufi rituals. In fact, the artist, who came closer to the world of Sufism in Spain, considers the artistic process as a ritual ceremony. The result is an almost meditative abstraction inspired by scenes from daily life. Looked at closely, the dots evoke a variety of images such as people in a crowd, perhaps stars in a mysterious universe, or even a network of cells in a body.

Beyond its meditative quality, the abstract painting is also a testimony to the power of minimalism. This artwork is part of a series of Khreis’ paintings, where the dot takes centerstage. Entitled Dialogue of the dot, his exhibition features similar musings on the significance of the excessively simple symbol. He explains that, “every time, the dot carries me to a dialogue with itself, within a specific space in which it is the fundamental element, in all its various state”.

Khreis’ abstract expressionist painting is an homage to the humble dot. The mystery it holds in the many stories it can tell is beyond its ubiquity. In depicting an enigmatic abstraction, Khreis uses the most elementary mark created through a spiritual experience of mind and body. He ultimately formulates a language left to the viewer to decipher.