FERYEL LAKHDAR (b.1965)

Born in 1965 in Tunis, she studied in Paris at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture and the École des Beaux-arts. She then remained in France where she studied urban design and also furniture design, while participating in the creation of cinema sets. She thus embarked on the restoration of public spaces such as the Château Chinon in France, where she also participated in the renovation of the city center.

Feryel Lakhdar has exhibited extensively since her first solo exhibition in 1986 at the Musée de Sidi Bou Saïd in Tunisia. Her work has been presented in various group and solo exhibitions worldwide, notably in Tunisia, France, Italy, Portugal, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. In parallel, she participated in the world exposition - Expo'92 Sevilla in Spain and Hanover 2000 in Germany. Furthermore, her works have been presented in solo exhibitions in galleries around the world, such as the Galerie El Hawajez in Cairo, Egypt, in 1998, as well as Esthète in Montreal, Canada, in 2005 and the Galerie M in Paris, France, in 2004 and 2006. Feryel has been cited in numerous publications including the catalog of the world exposition - Expo'92 Sevilla in Spain and one of the most recognized art books on modern and contemporary art in Tunisia: “L'Aventure de l'Art Moderne en Tunisie”, Simpact. In addition, her works are found in various public and corporate collections, including the Ministry of Culture in Tunisia. She works and lives in Tunis.

Her art can be associated with neo-figurative painting as it is based on the representation of the contemporary woman in society, more precisely the Tunisian woman. In her paintings as in her sculptures, she represents pale, voluptuous women with generous forms symbolizing the strength and emancipation of women in society. She often depicts family scenes or social gatherings drawn from a typical Tunisian milieu. However, her approach stems from a fundamental abstract work which, in the choice of colors and forms, relies on an intuitive aesthetic reflection. Just like her expansive feminine sculptures, she distills the physicality and character of the woman in her contextual portraits. In her art, she strives to capture the essential part of her characters which is often an outfit or accessories. Because she focuses on the essential aspect of her portraits, the setting is either simple or non-existent. Amplified by the memories and (fairy) tales of her Tunisian upbringing, her pictorial language tends to formulate the question of femininity, while exaggerating the lightness of being and the feeling of freedom.