Tahar Boukeroui

has for many years been recognized as one of the world’s innovators in the long tradition of Islamic arts. His synthesis of Persian miniature styles with contemporary subjects and swirling movement has set him apart from his associates in this discipline. He writes, “The stroke of brushes flow through paint, deeply disturbing, incorporating imagery from my past and perhaps…my future. The turmoil and despair are taken from my life of exile. Feelings, like a blue autumn’s leaf, ripped away by the fury of winds, never knowing where it’ll find rest. So are my figures always floating in the universe without a base. Like Picasso used to say, ‘painting is a lie that tells the truth.’ My work is only the other side of humankind where dreams, spirituality, nightmares and human energy coexist in an endless struggle in the quest for truth and light.” Tahar’s work is derived from his cultural traditions and western art.