Written by Arthur Debsi

Born in Qameshli, Syria, in 1951, Youssef Abdelke comes from a highly politically active family. His grandfather, Hanna Abdelke is the author of the anticlerical book entitled Syriac Christian Patriarch written during the 1930s[1]; and his father, Abdel Ahad Abdelke was a leader of a communist organization, regularly imprisoned during the 1960s and the 1970s, notably for his commitment to the Kurdish cause[2]. Hence, the young Youssef grew up listening to political conversations, and familiarizing himself with the idea of secularity. In 1966, Abdelke left his hometown to settle in Damascus where he later studied etching at the Faculty of Fine Arts and graduated in 1976. The topic of his final year project was about an event called ‘Black September’,which happened in Jordan, between 1970 and 1971. At that time, King Hussein of Jordan (1935-1999) launched military operations against the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the fedayeen who unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy. Thus, Youssef Abdelke illustrated the crackdown of the Palestinian people[3]. Also, because of his involvement in the League for Communist Action, he was arrested under the presidency of Hafez Al-Assad (1930-2000) and put in prison in 1979. Two years later, he was forced into exile and went to France where he completed his education at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, obtaining a diploma in etching in 1986. He eventually earned his doctorate in plastic arts from University of Paris VIII in 1989.

In Paris, Youssef Abdelke went to street markets to find the subjects of his paintings. He asked several pet vendors to sell him their dead birds, but they found the inquiry strange, they took him for a maniac and refused. In response, he then started to buy live birds instead, which he would have to kill himself.

Since 1968, Youssef Abdelke produced caricatures and children’s illustration[4] including posters, and book covers[5]. Yet, he progressively showed clear positions that he adopted to denounce injustice, and oppression. In the 1980s in Paris, he got interested in the paintings of the German artist Otto Dix (1891-1969) and the caricaturist George Grosz (1893-1959). His art moved towards a more expressionist style. He focused on illustrating the human being living harsh conditions, suffering and being alienated. As of 1987, he started producing a series of works of pastel and collages on paper that he called ‘Figures’ whose five examples are part of the Dalloul Art Foundation’s collection. In this series, he used vivid colors and straight lines to repeat the same scene: a full frontal view of three standing people – often two men and one woman – and that he varied afterwards. In the middle of this trio such as in Figures no.4 (1992), there is always an imposing man with a moustache and an austere look. This character is an army officer or a representative of the authority, according to the sash and the medals suspended from the uniform that he wears, and exudes greed[6]. He also has a sort of recorder in his hands as well as the other characters accompanying him who sometimes hold strange instruments like in Figures no.5 (1993) and Figures no.6 (1992), both part of the Dalloul Art collection. These scenes create an oppressive and threatening atmosphere almost like a nightmare, and might bring the memories of Abdelke’s incarceration as the figures are seen as ‘torturers’[7].

In the region of the Middle East, armed conflicts, and political tensions have punctuated the histories of the countries, and some repressive regimes are still in power. Using a large range of mediums, the artists have continued to represent images from what they have seen or have experienced. Including a certain degree of subjectivity, Youssef Abdelke altered the reality that he faced with exaggeration – notably in the dimensions of his artworks – and distortion, to make his critics. 

Starting 1995, the painter abandoned the use of a colored palette and only worked on the black and white palette, employing techniques such as etching, and charcoal. Attaching great importance to the details, he executed still lifes that illustrate animals, fruits, plants, and some household objects (needles, nails, knives), placed in the ground or piercing something like a flower. This is to express sorrow and the idea of lost and martyred land. Abdelke also drew a metaphoric parallel between Syrian people and some dead animals like fish and birds, insisting on tragic conditions in which they are viewed[8]. This part of his oeuvre appears darker and reveals the deep emotions of the artist longing for his homeland.

After twenty-five years of exile, the artist was able to go back to Syria in 2005 and established a studio in the capital city, gathering a community of artists. As he never renounced all his commitments for a democratic system, he got his passport confiscated by the authorities of Bashar Al-Assad’s government in 2010, and was again arrested in Tartous, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria, in July 2013. He was released five weeks later.

From the start of the Syrian people’s uprising in 2011, Youssef Abdelke has witnessed its consequences that have provoked anger, and strong violence all over the country. But, instead of narrating the current crisis, he preferred to go back to human figuration profoundly marked by the constant massacres occurring every day. He made some Syrian and Sudanese women pose in his atelier, and created a large series of nudes. Conveying intense sensuality, the models are either sitting or lying on the floor, and unexpectedly demonstrated a sort of serenity – some carry a little smile. They are thoroughly covered by thin and energetic lines, as if they were scratched[9]: Abdelke imagined these lines like barbed wires, which symbolize the prison, and the torture from which they can’t escape. On the 17^th of January 2017 in Damascus, he exhibited these nudes and received much criticism from those who expected him to keep defending the Syrian crisis against the regime. Despite of the controversy, he has always remained faithful to his country, saying: “Un­like many of my friends, I never planned to settle down in Paris (…) I’ve always wanted to come back to my home­land, Syria.”[10]

Youssef Abdelke currently resides in Syria.

[1] Davis, Scott C. The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria. Seattle, USA: Cune Press, 2003. [P.313]

[2] Davis, Scott C. The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria. Seattle, USA: Cune Press, 2003. [P.313]

[3] Daydé Emmanuel. Abdelké: Nus: 2014-2017. Paris, France: Galerie Claude Lemand, 2017. [P.6]

[4] Eigner, Saeb. Art of the Middle-East, Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran. London, UK: Merell Publishers Limited, 2011. [P.362]

[5] Hassan, Nawar El., and Helen Khal. Contemporary Art in Syria 1898-1998. Damascus, Syria: Gallery Atassi, 1998. [P.241]

[6] Eigner, Saeb. Art of the Middle-East, Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran. London, UK: Merell Publishers Limited, 2011. [P.172]

[7] Daydé Emmanuel. Abdelké: Nus: 2014-2017. Paris, France: Galerie Claude Lemand, 2017. [P.6]

[8] “Youssef Abdelké, Une Donation Contre La Mort.” Institut du monde arabe, July 23, 2019. https://www.imarabe.org/fr/expositions/youssef-abdelke.

[9] Daydé Emmanuel. Abdelké: Nus: 2014-2017. Paris, France: Galerie Claude Lemand, 2017. [P.8]

[10] Muhanna, Nadia. “King of Darkness (Profile of Syrian Painter Youssef Abdelke).” Nadia Muhanna's blog | مدونة ناديا مهنا, June 5, 2013. https://nadiamuhanna.wordpress....

Sources

Abdelké Youssef, Khaled Samawi, and Emil Menhem. Abdelké. Damascus, Syria: Ayyam Gallery, 2007.

Daydé Emmanuel. Abdelké: Nus: 2014-2017. Paris, France: Galerie Claude Lemand, 2017.

Davis, Scott C. The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria. Seattle, USA: Cune Press, 2003.

Eigner, Saeb. Art of the Middle-East, Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran. London, UK: Merell Publishers Limited, 2011.

Galerie Claude Lemand. Accessed May 12, 2020. http://www.claude-lemand.com/artiste/nouvelle-traduction-youssef-abdelke?souspage=bio.

Hassan, Nawar El., and Helen Khal. Contemporary Art in Syria 1898-1998. Damascus, Syria: Gallery Atassi, 1998.

Muhanna, Nadia. “King of Darkness (Profile of Syrian Painter Youssef Abdelke).” Nadia Muhanna's blog | مدونة ناديا مهنا, June 5, 2013. https://nadiamuhanna.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/king-of-darkness/.

“Youssef Abdelke: Galerie Tanit.” Youssef Abdelke | Galerie Tanit. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://www.galerietanit.com/artist/abdelke.

“Youssef Abdelké, Une Donation Contre La Mort.” Institut du monde arabe, July 23, 2019. https://www.imarabe.org/fr/expositions/youssef-abdelke.