Darat al Funun’s artist-in-residence, Ali Kaaf speaks about the development and production phases of works featured in his solo exhibition, detailing the themes and conceptual framework that inform his work, his use of materials, and experimental methods.

The artist speaks about how his residency at Darat al Funun led to the realization of this exhibition, highlighting key interactions with topics, issues, and moments that shaped the scope of the artist’s interest and passion.

The talk is in Arabic.

Ali Kaaf (b. 1977) is an Algerian-born Syrian visual artist based in Berlin. He graduated from the Institut des Beaux-Arts in Beirut, Lebanon, and studied under Marwan Kassab Bashi, first as a student of Darat al Funun’s inaugural summer academy in 1999, and later became his assistant in the following academy. He then continued his studies at Universität der Künste (UdK) in Berlin under the supervision of Professors Marwan and Rebecca Horn. In 2004, he was awarded the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Prize for Outstanding International Students, assigned by UdK in Berlin. He was also awarded the Young Collectors for MAXXI prize by the Young Collectors Association in Rome, and in 2014 he was awarded the Honorary AIR Award by the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley.

He previously showed his work in numerous solo exhibitions such as at Darat al Funun-The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman (2004), the Khan Ashad-Bacha, Damascus in collaboration with Goethe Institute (2006); Solidere, Beirut (2005); Galerie Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin (2008); Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch in Rome (2009); Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, USA (2010); the Moontower Foundation in Bad König-Zell in Germany (2013), C&K Gallery, Berlin (2020), the Pergamon Museum, Berlin (2021), and at Documenta 15 in Kassel (2022).