Kassem Amoudi
In Speer Gallery October 10 - November 4

Artist’s Statement

My work is a distillation of my life journey both as an artist and as a seeker of Truth. It went through many changes on a path, which led me to walk on the thin line between the form and the formless. My abstractions are a continuous adventure in the search for beauty, which lies beyond form and nature - beauty in its original form. Beauty may be hidden in a slight hint of color at the edge of the canvas or it may become the main attraction. The balance in my painting lies between the positive and the negative, the dynamic and the static, the action and the stillness. Both the speaker and the listener are important and needed for progress.

Each of my paintings has a story and a history of its own. I treat them as beings that have their own lives, feelings and needs. I listen, respond and allow them to be what they want to be. I work on many paintings at the same time - two or three in process on the walls of my studio with many more waiting their turn. This is why painting for me is a continuous discovery. The detachment of forms and the contemplation of colors allow me not to force my ideas onto the canvas. If I find a shape or a form I see it only as a vehicle and never as a destination.

My destination is something beyond form or shape. It is the abstracted beauty, which lies between the source and its reflection on the mirror of reality.

About the Artist

Kassem Amoudi is an award-winning artist. He received his MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA and has been a painting instructor there since 2000. He also leads courses at the Main Line Art Center, Wayne Art Center, Perkins Center for the Arts and is a faculty member of the artist in residence at the MFA program of Vermont College – Union Institute & University.

Seeking further painting knowledge, Mr. Amoudi enrolled in a two-year program of study of the Barnes Collection at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA, under Mr. Fred Osbourne.

Mr. Amoudi received his undergraduate degree from Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt.