Adel Dauood: Exploring Humanity Through Color and Form

Born in 1980, Adel Dauood is a prominent figure in Syrian art, blending abstraction and realism, expressionism and surrealism, with a vibrant use of color.

In his small-format paper works, fantastical creatures come alive—beings with long, tangled legs, sharp teeth, and multiple eyes and udders. These textured creations are both unsettling and intriguing.

But paper alone cannot contain Dauood’s imagination. "They need more space and color," he says, and so his creatures expand onto large canvases filled with bold oil and acrylic paints.

Dauood’s art goes beyond individual portraits, exploring the essence of human nature and shared experiences. His process is immersive, each brushstroke a connection to emotions, memories, and dreams.

His works piece together fragments of imagery: a foot, a face, limbs emerging from a swirl of lines and colors. Everyday objects—slippers, taps, bowls—appear among the abstract forms, grounding his pieces somewhere between the real and the imagined.

Through his art, Dauood creates spaces where worlds merge, and the complexities of human existence are brought to life in vivid colors and evocative shapes.

SOLO SHOWS (Selection)

2025 “Immigrant” - Mission Art, Beirut (Lebanon)

2024 “Humanity” - Gallery V58, Aarhus (Denmark}

2024 Gallery Benjamin Eck - Munich (Germany)

2024 Greith Haus Kultur, Graz (Austria}

2022 “The Way of Life”, Gallery V58, Aarhus (Denmark)

2021 “Blind Wind”, DOK Nie'derosterreich, Polte (Austria)

2021 “Unspoken Memories”, Gallery Chase Contemporary, New York (USA)

2021 “"Chaos”, Gallery Artecont, Vienna (Austria)

2020 “The Flood” - Greith Haus Kultur, Graz (Austria}

2019 “Pushing Paper Contemporary Drawing from 1970 to Now ” - British Museum - London (UK)

2019 Gallery V58, Arthaus (Denmark)

2019 Gallery Artemons Contemporary - Linz (Austria)

2018 “The Last Supper” – Gallery Artemons Contemporary – Vienna (Austria)

2018 Kalimat Gallery – Istanbul (Turkey)

2017  Hinterland Gallery – Vienna (Austria)

2015 Hinterland Gallery – Vienna (Austria)

2014 “Future Painting” - Essi Museum - Vienna (Austria)

2012 Kaire Visions -Amman (Jordan)

2012 Art House- Damascus

COLLECTIVE SHOWS (Selection)

2020 Langdesgalerie Museum (Spuren und Masken der Flucht) - Krems - Austria

2020 Group Exhibition at George Bergès Gallery - New York - USA

2019 British Museum (Publishing Paper Contemporary Drawing from 1970 to Now) London - UK

2019 Summer Group Show - George Bergès Gallery - New York

2019 Art Bodensee by Galerie Galerie. Graz, Hinterland Gallery - Vienna

2019 Art Herning  – by Gallery V58 - Denmark.

MUSEUMS ACQUISITIONS

2021 “Two Seconds Before Death” - Vienna Museum Vienna (Austria)

2021 Strabag Kunstforum - Vienna (Austria)

2020 Museum Universalmuseum Joanneum - Graz (Austria)

2015 The British Museum

2015 Barjeel Art Foundation - Sharjah Art Museum - Sharjah (UAE)