Background
Ali Omar Ermes was born in 1945, in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Central School of Art in London
Plymouth School of art and design
Ali Omar Ermes was born in 1945, in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Ali Omar Ermes traveled to England to foster his education; he earned his diploma in design at the Plymouth School of art and design in 1970 and later attended the Central School of Art in London for a short period.
On Ali's return to Libya, Ali wrote extensively and headed the visual arts section of All Arts magazine. In 1974 he was contracted to work as the visual arts consultant to the festival director for the World of Islam Festival in 1976, preparing for exhibitions on Islamic art and culture and meeting artists and calligraphers, museum directors and various intellectuals across the Muslim world. He worked for a few years writing and researching, traveling frequently, on different artistic and publishing projects until 1981 when he decided to move to England where he lives today with his family.
Ali Omar Ermes is an international artist whose artwork is principally based on the Arabic letter form. He paints on various sizes and some very large canvases (up to 5 meters long), in single or multiple colors applied with large brushes mainly on specially hand-made paper.
Ali Omar‘s paintings produce a strong visual language, which speaks eloquently to people who can read the Arabic script and those who cannot. On multiple levels, his work has brought a new dynamism and vitality to the world of Islamic Art and has been described as “a Bridge between the divide of cultures and languages.” Ali Omar Ermes is considered by many curators and art experts around the world as a unique international artist. He is widely exhibited and probably the number one collected contemporary Muslim artist in the world.
His work is held in various museums from the Far East to the Far West including The British Museum (London), The Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam), The Smithsonian Institution (Washington), Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (Amman), The National Gallery of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur). His work is also in private collections including the British Government Art Collection (London), Prince of Wales Collection, The Royal Collection of the Sultanate of Oman, H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (Dubai), Arab Heritage Gallery at Khubar (Saudi Arabia) as well as in international Banks and Oil Companies.
Al Meem Stream
Midas Modern – Crossfire Fields 5, The Human Destruction of the Environment
Al-Khaa Al-Ashhab
Qaf, Al Alsmaie Tales
Iqra - Read!
The Blue Haa
Dal Dhal
Meem, Tha, Alif: Turaath (Heritage)
The Sharp and Competent
Contradictions of Joy
The Fourth Ode (From The Prize Poem Series)
Tughriyat Ebni Zuhair
Ali combines in his paintings excerpts from world literature, mainly Arabic and Islamic poetry and prose and uses them as comments on human values such as justice, peace, human rights, protection of the environment and moral and social responsibilities. The combination of the text, the colors, the forms, the sense of space and rhythm create powerful visual and musical compositions.
Quotations:
"There were times in life when youth was a golden chance to learn, to experiment and to enjoy the wonders of Islamic/International arts, Arabic, Islamic and world literature."
"I held and participated in more than fifty-five solo or group exhibitions in various parts of the world, during which my art was acquired by museums, galleries, private and public collections alike."
Ermes participates in various social and cultural activities and endeavors. He is the chairman of the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre (MCHC) in the Kensington and Chelsea Borough, London. He has also served on the executive board of the London Civic Forum, an organization that engages the capital’s civil society in the regional governance of London. Ermes is the co-founder and was the co-chairman of the Forum of Faiths in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
