Shadi Abousada

Shadi Abousada (b. 1983, Sweida, Syria) is a Syrian multidisciplinary artist working across painting, installation, and video art. He studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University, graduating in 2008. Currently based in Beirut, Lebanon, his practice explores the complex social and political realities of his cultural environment through a distinctive visual language that combines symbolism, surrealism, and subtle humor.

Working across different media, Abousada experiments with the expressive possibilities of painting, installation, and digital imagery. His work transforms familiar scenes and everyday experiences into layered compositions, where symbolic gestures, playful elements, and unexpected visual relationships invite viewers to question established perceptions of reality.

Color plays a central role in his practice, shaping the emotional and visual intensity of his compositions. Through a balance of intimacy, irony, and surreal expression, Abousada creates works that reflect the contradictions and absurdities of contemporary life while remaining open to multiple interpretations.

Since 2006, his work has been exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions across the Middle East and Europe, including Lebanon, the UAE, Qatar, the UK, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland.