MOHAMED BEN SLAMA (b.1974)

Ben Slama is a Tunisian painter born in 1974 in Tunis. Painting has been an integral part of his daily life since he was 17 years old. 

Ben Slama's painting is intended to be anonymous: the portraits are carefully concealed, hidden with brio and finesse. Stories and legends are grafted onto these elusive faces. The artist draws his inspiration from popular tales. From La Fontaine to the Brothers Grimm, through Japanese manga, nothing is left aside by this curious and dynamic artist. 

The Protagonistes series is composed of animal portraits imbued with irony, cruelty, tragedy, and tenderness, which reflect all the mediocrity in which the artist drowns his characters. Deliberately concealed, these animal portraits appear as masks and raise questions about identity, gender, and politics.

From 2005, Ben Slama began exhibiting his works at the Kanvas Art Gallery. His work is also present in the public collection of the future Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Tunisia. His works delight private collectors.

Thanks to the prizes and grants obtained after his first exhibition, Ben Slama was able to take classes at the Centre des arts vivants de Radès and the Italian Cultural Center in Tunis. He also participated in an artists' workshop in Saïda (Lebanon) and at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris where he developed and affirmed his undeniable talent.

He currently lives and works in Paris and is undoubtedly one of the most original and famous painters of the new generation of talented Tunisian artists.

︎ @ben_slama_studio