Ghassan Al-Nana was born in Homs, Syria in 1953. He studied at the Plastic Arts Center in Homs (1971) and graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus in 1978.
Nana has held solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe and the Arab world at such venues as Galerie Tanit, Beirut (2012); the Beirut Art Fair (2011); Tajalliyat Art Gallery, Damascus (2011); the National Museum of Damascus (2009); Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2008); Fateh Moudarres Atelier, Damascus (2002); Atassi Gallery, Damascus (1998); and the Cairo Biennial (1996).
His works are housed in the National Museum of Damascus and the Syrian Ministry of Culture.
The paintings of contemporary Syrian artist Ghassan Al-Nana depict a variety of subjects in compositions that rely on expressionist brushwork and incandescent hues in the creation of buoyant settings. Inspired by a range of themes, including ancient mythology and historical tableaus, Nana’s atmospheric paintings explore the multitude of experiences that inform both the past and the present, and are embodied in material culture.
For the artist, such scenes are fashioned by “life, nature, history, people, and the world’s problems.” Utilising a painterly approach to depicting hovering “dreams,” his melodic brushstrokes guide the viewer’s eye across swaying forms as though positioned before a passing haze.