OMAR BEY

Born in Tunis in 1973, Omar Bey completed a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts from 2011 to 2012 after graduating in 1998 from the Institut des Beaux-Arts de Tunisie. His work has been presented in various international exhibitions in Paris, London, Barcelona, New York, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi; as well as in contemporary art fairs such as Cutlog, Dubai Art Fair, Abu Dhabi, and 1:54 African Art Fair.

Omar Bey’s works include painting, collage, and multimedia assemblages of found objects. He has developed an innovative mastery of materials that allows him to evoke surprise, humor, and contemplation in viewers. He explores and uses many media, mixing materials that often appear contradictory but ultimately form a “balanced” work through strong contrasts. The artist moves from one technique to another without concern for virtuosity, creating contrasts not only in materials but also in concept. Free, airy birds become motionless specters; the mass of a crowd is compressed into a sum of singular individuals; freedom is coupled with confinement — as if “truth” always lies in between, refusing established and stifling certainties.

Bey’s themes revolve around these contrasts of our existence. Each work explores an absurdity that resonates through its construction with materials that seem to contradict one another. His practice, close to “outsider art,” reflects a direct and personal engagement with the tensions of his own experiences in Tunisia, while also speaking to broader contexts.






︎ @omarbey.art