The intangibles in my work emerge from color chemistry and my obsession with the blind field. To experience one of these paintings is to keep a window open to this Code Playground of the spirit. (Fadi Elchamaa, Beirut 2025)
BIO
Rooted in Lebanon’s layered history of beauty and struggle, Elchamaa’s work embodies the tension between constraint and liberation. Growing up in Beirut during the Civil War, he began painting at 21, using the medium to navigate identity and the raw immediacy of human existence. His practice evolved into a distinct visual language that balances precision with unrestrained expression.
After 15 years as a Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson (1997-2012), where he mastered visual communication, Elchamaa deepened his commitment to painting, shedding commercial confines to embrace what he calls “the irreducibly human.” His canvases are dynamic spaces where structured forms dissolve into fluid textures, and memory intersects with instinct.
In 2019, Elchamaa co-founded Sleeping With The Enemy Productions (SWTEP), extending painting into public space and performance, challenging traditional boundaries between artist, audience, and perception. His retrospective And Tomorrow Who Am I? at ARTLAB Beirut marked a pivotal moment, coinciding with the Lebanese Revolution. The exhibition FUQA’A (Bubble) at Janine Rubeiz Gallery (2022) explored themes of fragility and transformation, while The Disappearing Act at Lynn Modallal Gallery (2023) investigated the reconfiguration of presence through materiality and gesture.
His work has been exhibited internationally, from VOLTA New York (2023) to shows in Taiwan, Dubai, Paris, Washington DC, and Abidjan. His paintings are part of prominent collections, including the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation and the R&R Haddad Collection.
Born in Beirut, 1960
Lives and works in Baabdat – Lebanon
1960 – 1979 Learned to read and write
1974 – 1981 Photography and dark room
1981 – 1997 Painting
1997 – 2012 Creative Director J. Walter Thompson (Beirut, Damascus, Khobar, Manama, Cairo, Riyadh, Casablanca, Doha)
2013 – today Painting and art activism
“The only space left is inward.”
2025
AFTERTASTE – duo show – FEB – Portico Gallery MD-USA
2024
SANA HELWA – collective – May – Lynn Modallal Gallery Beirut
BREATHSCAPE – نفس collective – April – Lynn Modallal Gallery Beirut
2023
THE DISAPPEARING ACT – Solo Show – Lynn Modallal Gallery Beirut
VOLTA ART FAIR – NEW YORK – Walls House Of Art Gallery – NEW YORK
NOT TODAY – Collective show – Lynn Modallal Gallery – Beirut
LA TÊTE DANS LES NUAGES – Duoshow – Walls House Of Art – Abidjan
2022
HEY YOU يا أيها artist-curated collective show by Fadi Elchamaa – Dec 10, 2022
FUQA’A (bubble) – Solo exhibition – Galerie Janine Rubeiz Beirut – Nov 2022
PARIS LEBANON 1st Edition – Collective – 389LABOUTIQUE – curated by popup projects
ELECTICISM – Collective – DuneArtStation Dubai
DUBAI ART WEEK -Collective Artb Fltrd Gallery – Dubai
True Colors – Fltrd Gallery – Dubai – UAE – Curated by Joe Hayek
2021
MADMAN – Galerie BEIBAI – Shanghai – China – Curated by Angela Hsu
2020
THE COLLECTIVE – Galerie BeiBei – Shanghai – China
TABA3OD – 3 weeks of collaborative work with Semaan Khawam.
MAMNOU3 EL TEHZIB – 3 weeks live painting performance SWTE Beirut 15 Feb 2020
2019
AND TOMORROW WHO AM I? – Solo show, Public curated retrospective, 35 years of painting- Artlab gallery, Beirut, Lebanon 17 Oct 2019 – (watch)
A PEACE OF LIBERTY – Gebran Tueni Foundation, Maison Libanaise – Group show, Beirut, Lebanon, October 9
HOC EVA – Group show curated by Selena Cerami – London, UK June 2019
RAW – 3 weeks live painting performance – KAF Contemporary Art Gallery Beirut – Lebanon June 2019
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY – 3 weeks live painting performance – KAF Contemporary Art Gallery Beirut – Lebanon March 2019
THE COLLECTIVE – KAF Contemporary Art Gallery Beirut – Lebanon
2018
FROM THE ARTIST’S STUDIO – Collective – KAF Contemporary Art Gallery Beirut
2016
DEVIATIONS – Solo show – Galleria Soul Egypt
ELCHAMAA VS KHAWAM – Rochane Gallery Beirut Lebanon
UTOPIAN IDENTITY – Gallerie 59 – Rivoli – Paris- France
AUCTION exhibit for AEC Beirut Lebanon – Sculpture
2015
STRANGE FRUITS – Wood Of Joy – Baabdat Lebanon
2012
MAPPING SOUL – Gallerie 59 – Rivoli – Paris- France
2011
TRANSFORMATIONS – Installation – Joanna Seikali Gallery – Lebanon Solo
1997
DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS – Rochan Gallery – Beirut, Lebanon
1996
SALON D’AUTOMNE – Sursock Museum Beirut, Lebanon
1995
FLOWERS ON THE FLOOR – Installation – Forum Art Show – Beirut, Lebanon
SALON D’AUTOMNE – Sursock Museum – Beirut – Lebanon
YARZEH – Yarzeh Art Gallery – Mount Lebanon – Lebanon