Untitled, 2012

Born in Lebanon, in 1975, the year the Lebanese Civil War began, Ayman Baalbaki grew up surrounded by the realities of conflict, which became central to his artistic vision. He studied at the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and later at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, refining a style that merges raw emotion with technical mastery.

Baalbaki is best known for his monumental portraits of fighters, often depicted with keffiyehs or gas masks, symbols of resistance and the endless cycle of conflict in the Middle East. His canvases are layered with thick, textured brushstrokes, conveying both the violence of destruction and the resilience of survival. Alongside these portraits, he paints ruined buildings, bombed suburbs, and scattered structures, reflecting the scars left on Beirut and the broader region.

Raised in a family of artist, his father Fawzi and uncle Abdelhamid Baalbaki were both painter, Ayman inherited a strong artistic lineage. His works have been exhibited internationally, from the Venice Biennale to major galleries across Europe and the Middle East, making him one of the most recognized Arab artists of his generation.