Born in Beirut, Lebanese multidisciplinary artist, Publisher and Curator Abed Al Kadiri double majored in Arabic Literature and Fine Arts. His work focuses on the deprivation of freedom in society by analyzing contemporary issues of violence, cultural heritage, migration and belonging.
Al Kadiri’s solo exhibitions include Abu Ghraib, Beirut (2006); In the Corner at the Lebanese Artists Association, Beirut (2008); Identity Turbulences at FA Gallery, Kuwait (2011); Al Maqama 2014 at Dar Al Funoon, Kuwait (2014); Ashes to the Sea at Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut (2016); Arcadia at Al Bareh Art Gallery, Bahrain (2016), Al Maqama Al Mosuliya, Beirut Art Fair (2017); The Story of the Rubber Tree at Sursock Museum, Beirut (2017-2018); The Remains of the Last Red Rose, Galerie Tanit, Beirut (2020); Today, I Would Like to be a Tree, Galerie Tanit, Beirut (2020), October 17, 2019. Diaries of the Lebanese Revolution, Cromwell Place, London, UK (2021). Al Kadiri has also participated in several group exhibitions regionally and internationally including Istanbul, Paris, Basel, Cambridge, Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, and Beirut.
His work can be found in private and public collections in the Middle East. In 2017 he was awarded the Sursock Museum’s Jury Award at the 32nd Salon d’Automne.
In 2006 Al Kadiri moved to Kuwait and worked as an art critic, before establishing the FA Gallery in 2010. He was appointed as the Director of Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) Kuwait from 2012-2015, which has become a leading non-profit art institution in the Middle East. There he curated numerous exhibitions and developed an extensive education program. He initiated the art exchange programs making way for collaborations with significant art spaces in Paris, Spain, Hungary, UK, South Korea, Lebanon, Cairo and the Gulf Region. In 2015, Al Kadiri left his position at CAP and is currently residing between Paris and Beirut.
In 2017, he co-founded Dongola Limited Editions, a leading publishing house that position artist’s books as a contemporary practice from the Arab world.
Abed Al Kadiri is represented by Galerie Tanit Beirut/Munich.
