Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Hafeez Kassis

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Born in: 1945
  • Age: 77
  • Curriculum vitae :

Information

Hafeez Kassis is a Palestinian plastic artist (born in the town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem in 1945). Despite his fame as an artist forming stained glass and mosaics, with his experience in restoring artworks, he was an oil and water painter and exhibited in the field of artistic photography. He restored many important sites such as churches and ancient palaces in Palestine and abroad.

Professional life
He obtained a high school diploma / scientific guidance from Bethlehem Secondary School 1965. Then a master’s degree in fine arts from Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts - Turkey, 1972. Immediately after graduation, he worked as a professor at the Institute of Music and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture / Amman, and taught drawing Art History and Technology of Artistic Materials. In 1974, he worked at the University of Jordan as an artistic supervisor, trained students in the field of fine arts, and supervised students' musical and theater activities in all university faculties. In 1975, he established the Art Education major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and taught this major for a year. He worked in the Jordanian Ministry of Culture between 1976-1985 as Head of the Art Exhibitions Department in the Ministry, Head of the Fine Arts Department at the Institute of Music and Fine Arts, and Director of the Music and Fine Arts Institute of the Ministry of Culture. In 1980 he was elected president of the Association of Plastic Artists in Jordan, and was one of the founders of this association. In 1981 he entered a postgraduate course in mosaics at the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts in Italy.

his works
He wrote special studies and research papers in the field of restoration and preservation of artworks and museums. He held seven personal exhibitions in Jordan, Palestine and Istanbul, and participated in many group exhibitions in Jordan and abroad. He executed many murals and art projects using frescoes, mosaics and stained glass.

There are many entities that have collections of his artworks, including the Royal Jordanian Palaces, the Jordan National Museum, the Qatar National Museum, the Syrian Ministry of Culture, and private collections distributed in Jordan, the United States, Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Lebanon, and others... . - In 1985, commissioned by the Custody of the Holy Land, he carried out a comprehensive restoration and restoration of drawings, decorations, and all artworks in the Cathedral of the Savior Monastery in Jerusalem, on the occasion of the centenary of its construction. Artistic for all the churches of the Franciscan Fathers. In 1986-1987, he supervised all decoration works and artistic designs and executed murals, mosaics and stained glass works in Tarasanta Church / Amman. In 1987, he restored all the paintings in Zahran Palace/Jordanian Royal Palaces. In 1987, he restored all the artworks in the Latin Church in Salt/Jordan. In 1988 he restored the Church of Santa Maria in Larnaca / Cyprus. In the same year, he participated with an Italian team in restoring drawings and wall decorations in Raghadan Palace, the Royal Court, and the royal palaces in Jordan. He participated in the work of fine arts curricula at Al-Quds Open University. He was chosen to develop the Institute of Music and Fine Arts and turn it into a college of arts, and worked for a year, where he completed, with others, a comprehensive study of the internal system and curricula, teaching plastic arts, music and theater.

From 1985 until now, he carried out a comprehensive restoration of the following churches:
Church of the Monastery of the Savior / Jerusalem.
St. Joseph Church / Jabal Amman - Jordan.
Gethsemane Church / Jerusalem.
Church of Santa Maria / Cyprus.
Latin Church / Salt.
Stained glass for the Church of the Nativity - Bethlehem.
Mosaic in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Jerusalem.
Fresco murals - Grotto of Gethsemane.
The Church of the Imprisonment of Christ - Phase Two - Passion Road - Jerusalem.
Passion Road - the fifth stage - Jerusalem.
The Nuns Church - Larnaca / Cyprus.
He is the artistic restorer certified by the Royal Society of Fine Arts - National Museum / Amman. He was chosen by the Italian Foreign Ministry, the Italian Embassy in Amman, and the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism to be the first principal of the Madaba Mosaic School, and he participated in the founding and trained the first team of teachers for four months before continuing their training in Italy. He participated in many technical seminars and conferences, and presented working papers in his field of specialization, including:

Jordan's first and second week of plastic art.
Kuwait Biennial for Fine Arts.
Baghdad Biennial for Fine Arts.
Symposium and workshop on methods and techniques for preserving artworks in museums / Royal Society of Fine Arts / Jordan National Museum.

 

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Achievements and Awards

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