Khaled Al-Saai (born 1970) grew up in a household of scholars and artists, surrounded by painting, music, and calligraphy, and by eighteen years of age he already had a reputation as a calligrapher. Al-Saai works in an astonishing range of styles, from decorative classical modes—which he often uses for quotations from poetry—to radically inventive compositions, in which lettering is fragmented into fantastical, almost pictorial compositions. He has an MA in Fine Art from the University of Damascus (1998), and was nominated one of the ten best international calligraphers at the first International festival of Calligraphy in Teheran, Iran, a year before receiving his MA. More recently, Al-Saai has been awarded first prize of Jaly Diwani script at the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture’s Seventh International Competition of Calligraphy in Istanbul, Turkey (2007), and first prize in modern calligraphy in the International Festival for Calligraphy in Algeria (2009).

We welcome him back to the University of Michigan, where he taught an introduction to Arabic calligraphy in 2002, and where his work is included in UMMA's collection. The breathtaking beauty of his work makes it accessible to all and this demonstration will be an exciting introduction to his practice.

Organized and cosponsored by the UM Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.