Hussein Madi

Hussein Madi (1938–2024) was a Lebanese painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose lifelong subject was life itself: animals, plants, and the human figure—reduced to essential, repeatable forms and rebuilt through rhythm, colour, and structure. Born in Chebaa in South Lebanon, he studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) in Beirut, then moved to Rome in 1963 for more than two decades. His practice spans painting, printmaking, and sculpture, distinguished by distilled forms, disciplined structure, and a balance between curves and geometry.

Hussein Madi (1938–2024) was born in Chebaa (Shebaa), South Lebanon, where he developed an early sensitivity to nature and disciplined craft. He studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) in Beirut (1958–1962), then moved to Rome in 1963, continuing studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti. What was intended as a short stay became more than two decades in Italy, where he absorbed Old Master techniques—fresco, mosaic, bronze—and deepened an approach where drawing becomes a structural grammar across media.

His practice is characterized by a tension held in balance: radical geometry and elegant curves; strict order and sensual colour; abstraction and figuration. He returned to Beirut permanently in 1986 and continued to work with singular devotion.

Madi served as Head of the Lebanese Artists Association (1982–1992) and taught painting and sculpture at the Lebanese University.

His work has been shown at international biennials including the Alexandria Biennale, Cairo Biennale, São Paulo Biennial, and Venice Biennale (2003). Solo and group exhibitions span venues including the British Museum (London), Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), and Ueno Museum (Tokyo).

Awards include First Prize at the Salon d'Automne, Sursock Museum, Beirut (1965); Salon Prize for Sculpture, Italian Cultural Centre (1968); First Prize for Engraving, Città di Lecce, Italy (1974); and the Order of the Star of Italy (Cavaliere grade, 2003).

His works are held in collections including the British Museum, Institut du Monde Arabe, Sursock Museum, Dalloul Art Foundation, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, and Barjeel Art Foundation.