Personal Info
- Country of residence: United States
Information
Bissan Rafe Qasrawi is an American-Palestinian visual artist living and working in Houston, Texas. Many of her work depicts the lives of the Palestinian diaspora. She established Nohra-Studio in Houston back in 2007. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries and biennials throughout the world including: USA, Italy, Portugal, UK and Palestine.
Source
Achievements and Awards
Art Work
Bissan's artwork ranges from political cartoons, oil paintings, illustrations and literature employing the concept of culture and folklore tied in with a Palestinian theme. Her most notable work is from the series Palestina which are mostly oil paintings on wood. A unique factor about the artist's work is that she chooses German titles for most of her pieces as an illusion or paradox preluding to the holocaust and the controversial existence of the Zionist State Israel.
Olive Brides, an exhibitions hosted by The Women Studies in 2008 Houston, TX: A series of oil paintings done on both canvas and woods. The series draws the contours of the Palestinian conflict as seen in the eyes of the Palestinian women in the form of traditional dress represented in form of the women portrayed, which explores the politics, folklore, and tradition of Palestinian.
The Child Far Away, an exhibition hosted by Palácio Valenças in 2011 Sintra, Portugal: An exhibition of the fairytale, The Child Far Away, 44 illustrations with author Jason R. Forbus.
Fairytales
Shamms Islet: a dual publication, the first a folkloric novelette and the second an illustrated fairytale, which links Eastern to Western Asian cultures as seen through the eyes of a westerner. The story focuses mainly on the folklore of there countries: Palestine, Japan and Texas (USA). The story work was done in a series of Artist in Residence the artist undertook in from 2011-2013 in various regions of the world.
The Child Far Away: is an illustrated fairytale written by Italian-American writer, Jason R. Forbus and illustrated by Bissan Rafe. The story is part of a global collective effort of Ali Ribelli to support third world counties and refugee camp schools around the world. The book has been translated into 15 languages including English, Italian, Arabic, and French.
Paintings Series
Fairytale: Watercolour, Sumi-e Ink
The fairytale series is one of Bissan's most internationally series to date. The production of most of the stories took place in various countries and were often linked to kids workshops. Most of the stories, such as The Child Far Away featured a collaboration with Italian-American writer Jason Forbus and has been translated into more than ten languages including: Arabic, Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin
Verlassen (2009-2010): Oil on canvas
Palestina (2008-2010): Oil on wood
This series featured most of its work in "Olive Brides", a solo Exhibition Bissan had sponsored by The Women Studies in Houston. The paintings were noted for mixing folkloric Palestinian fashion with the Palestinian conflict. This series also hosts some of Bissan's largest work to date pertaining to size.
Repressalie (2004-2008): Oil and canvas
- Years in active
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