“Orient Gallery is an important cultural institution in Jordan that ignites the Arab cultural and fine arts scene, and it is a privilege for me to be a part of it”

Jamal A. Rahim

Currently living in Al Muharraq, Bahrain Jamal Abdul Rahim was born there in 1965. Growing up he learned to become a skilled fisherman, a common occupation in his city. in 1984 Jamal came back to Bahrain after spending four years in India where he was studying to obtain a diploma in Engineering Drawing. It was upon his return where his journey with art begins; he participated in his first joint exhibition in 1987 and was encouraged by an eminent Bahraini artist Ibrahim Busaad, to seriously pursue art. A year later Abdul Rahim met artist Abdul Jabbar Ghadban as was immediately fascinated by Ghadbans work with etching and printing. His first solo exhibition took place on February 3rd 1990, a date he now considers his rebirth.Each piece he creates is layered and textured, inspired by all that he has seen and experienced in his life; starting with the culturally rich environment that he grew up in. His work exhibits close ties between man and the universe, through the lens of his own identity as a Bahraini Arab, and as an Artist and his relationship with the city/ life he grew up knowing around the sea. This influenced the colour palettes he used when he first began to paint. The Arabic language is a main theme in the construction of his art. Not only does he draw and paint but Rahim also experiments with etching, printmaking and sculpture. He also has in his studio one of the largest printmaking workshop in the Gulf.

“A true artist is inspired by things and stores this inspiration in his subconscious, and when he stands in front of a work or art or painting, he becomes a metaphysical representation of this subconscious.”

Jamal A. Rahim