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- Country of residence: Netherlands
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The Nakba of Palestine in 1948 formed the starting point for the emergence of many names in the field of plastic art, and most of their attention was focused on the history of Palestine and the products of the Palestinian people, who formed their national identity rooted in various products in the areas of life, from industry and construction, to a special popular dress, and customs and traditions that were passed down through the generations repeatedly, to be the greatest present . In the drawings of Palestinian plastic art as a phenomenon, an association of Palestinian plastic artists and subsequently the establishment of a real resistance front to confront the Zionist falsehood through which the occupying state tried to obscure and obliterate the Palestinian national identity , but to no avail. One of the pioneers of this front was the late plastic artist and critic Abdullah Abu Rashid.
His career with art
The late Abdullah Abu Rashid was full of love for his homeland, Palestine, and his village of Tira Haifa. I always sensed that through his conversations in our frequent meetings in the outskirts of our camp and our second homeland, Yarmouk Camp on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The Palestinian critic and visual artist Abdullah Abu Rashid was born in Syria in 1951, and comes from the village of Al-Tira in the district of Haifa, the bride of the Palestinian coast. He grew up in the Yarmouk camp, which he loved. Abdullah Abu Rashid is considered one of the important Palestinian figures in the field of plastic art and art criticism.
Critic and artist Abdullah Abu Rashid participated in dozens of art exhibitions and presented hundreds of drawings carrying within them the scent of roses from his homeland, Palestine, and the hope of victory. He taught drawing in several high schools, especially Yarmouk Boys’ High School in the south of the camp.
Regarding his vision of Palestinian plastic art as a critic, Abdullah Abu Rashid pointed out in his many press interviews that Palestinian plastic art in general possesses the components of its visual unity and aesthetics, and the specificity of artistic expression, which contains characteristics in its symbols, elements, characters, beautiful Palestinian nature, customs, heritage, and the resistance and struggle of the Palestinian people.
In the context of my follow-up of the interviews of Abu Rashid, the insightful art critic, on more than one occasion, periodical, and newspaper, he pointed out that there is no difference between the products of Palestinian visual artists in the interior occupied in 1948, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the forced immigrants, and that all artistic productions have a common denominator and a vital field for expressing the history and identity of Palestine. The truth in its historical context, its manifestations, and its cultural features is open to the unity of religions, tolerance, heritage, and resistance, keeping pace with places of pain and hope, and recording the diary of Palestinian sorrows and joys using appropriate expressive artistic techniques and schools.
Topics enriched with the privacy and personal culture of the creators, and connected to their academic and professional artistic abilities and their way of expression. You may find many intersections in ideas, themes, colors and techniques between Palestinian artists and visual artists inside the occupied Palestinian homeland with their counterparts in the diaspora, as if they are drawing on the source of creating fine art from a depth The Palestinian homeland, its deep-rooted history, and its identity are rooted through a long history and tireless activity of the Palestinian people in all paths of life. To confirm that the Palestinian people, at home and among forced immigrants near and far, are a unifying national identity for a people with a just cause.
His products
Abdullah Abu Rashid invoked the paintings of the artist Ghassan Kanafani in more than one article and press interview, stressing that “the paintings of the martyr Ghassan Kanafani do not leave the space of his thinking and writings, integrated into all his creative expressions, and are no less important than his narrated and written texts in all fields of literature, politics and criticism, but there are shortcomings.” He exposed all Palestinian institutions for this creative aspect to neglect and lack of documentation. Many of his paintings and drawings are still unknown even to his companions, fans, family, and lovers, and require a renewed invitation to collect them and revive his plastic artistic works.”
Abdullah Abu Rashid (Abu Qutaiba) died after a long struggle with illness in Germany in April of 2019, leaving an artistic treasure that is added to the Palestinian national identity. Among his most important productions is the issuance of a group of books and critical works, as well as many research papers in a number of conferences and seminars. Related to Palestinian plastic art. Among these books is “Al-Wajeez in the History of Arabic Calligraphy,” which he presented as a key introduction to Arab culture and a rich Islamic civilization that has clothed the world with its elegant aesthetic garb and haunted hearts, places, and the momentum of history. In addition to another book titled “The Art of Palestinian Photography: Dialogues of the Land, Heritage, Jerusalem, Resistance, Intifada,” which was published by the Palestine Foundation for Culture in 2007. In short, the late Abdullah Abu Rashid was an icon of Palestinian plastic arts
and a critic emulated by the rising Palestinian generations in The field of fine art and its criticism.
News about Abdullah Abu Rashid
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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