Hossam Dirar

Biography

Hossam Dirar (b.1978 Cairo, Egypt) is an Egyptian multidisciplinary artist who was awarded  a BA in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Applied Arts at Helwan University in Cairo (2000) and started working as a graphic designer, opening his own Graphic Design Studio in 2005. In addition to attending workshops and courses, Dirar studied for an MA in Sound Art from the University of Barcelona (2018). Following the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, Dirar produced his first paintings and began traveling around Europe gathering inspiration from various galleries and museums. Seeing the works of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele for the first time influenced his recent works.

As a result of his travels between Egypt and Europe, he started exploring questions of cultural identity, gender roles and to discuss socio-economic and political ideas. His cultural uncertainty pushed him to delve into the world of Ancient Egyptian history in search for a cultural identity he can relate to and can call his own. In that, he discovered his interest in women’s rights and the beauty in the contrast of cultures in terms of beliefs, liberty and open-mindedness.

Dirar’s initial artwork drew a lot from nature and was heavily figurative. As he developed his style, he began creating impressionist and abstract expressionist artworks. Today, his paintings can be seen as a graceful combination of both, impressionism and abstract expressionism.

His works have been exhibited in Cairo, Egypt as well as the United Kingdom, United States and Spain.

Hossam Dirar lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.