Lot 114: Safwan Dahoul (Syrian, b. 1961)

Safwan Dahoul (Syrian, b. 1961)
Reve
signed 'DAHOUL 07' and in Arabic (lower left) of the left panel
oil on canvas, diptych
each 70 7/8 x 70 7/8in. (180 x 180cm.); overall 70 7/8 x 141¾in. (180 x 360cm.)
Painted in 2007

For the past twenty years Safwan Dahoul's work has been centred around one subject, the mysterious world of dreams, hence the title Reve (Dream). Each dream is unique, in relation to the emotional state of the human being. Dahoul explores through his paintings the notion of escape to a better world. The female figure in this painting (repeated four times) is swimming in the unreal atmosphere of love, sensitive to the motion of the what appears to be the empty space around her. To her, this emptiness is full of her lover's presence. Dahoul emphasises the purity of the outline and form, bathing his characters in a two tone colour palette. This echoes both the division and the unity between masculine and feminine.