Leila Shawa (1940)

Aliases: Laila a-awa; Leila Rashad Shawa

Professions: Painter

LAILA SHAWA (PALESTINE, B. 1940)
Laila Shawa (Palestinian, b. 1940)
The Zar (from the series Women and Magic)
LAILA SHAWA (PALESTINIAN, B. 1940) UNTITLED 29cm x 21cm (11.5in x 8.25in)

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Leila Shawa Sold at Auction

Leila Shawa Biography

(b Gaza, 4 April 1940). Palestinian painter and jewellery designer. She was trained in Cairo at the Leonardo Da Vinci School of Art (1957–8), and in Rome at the Accademia di Belle Arti (1958–64) and the Accademia S Giacomo (1960–64); she also attended summer courses at the School of Seeing in Salzburg, where she worked under Oskar Kokoschka. On returning to Gaza she was appointed supervisor for arts and crafts education in UNRWA schools (1965–7) and a UNESCO lecturer in child education at training courses for UNRWA teachers (1966–7). From 1967 to 1975 she worked in Beirut as a full-time painter and children’s book illustrator. In 1977 she collaborated with a team of architects on the construction of the Cultural Centre in Gaza, executing large stained-glass windows for the project. In 1987 she settled in London. Her paintings are distinguished by their bold style and subject-matter. After a period early in her career when she depicted fictional Oriental cities and horses, she dealt with contemporary issues, such as the role and aspirations of women (e.g. Impossible Dream , 1988, oil on canvas; Amman, N.G. F.A.). She also derived inspiration from the graffiti-covered walls of Gaza, transferring her photographs of the walls to large screenprints on canvas, overdrawn with her own abstract signs (e.g. Walls of Gaza , 1992; Amman, Abdul Hamid Shoman Found.).

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