Oussama Diab’s ‘Reimagined’ at Artbooth Gallery interprets legacy of masterpieces
- Last updated: August 26, 2026 | 09:37
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Artbooth Gallery, Abu Dhabi, is presenting Reimagined, a solo exhibition by Palestinian-Syrian-Dutch artist Oussama Diab (Sept. 17 - Oct. 31). Reimagined is held as marking a compelling new chapter in Diab’s artistic practice, bringing together a series of reinterpretations of some of the most celebrated masterpieces in the history of Western art. Drawing inspiration from iconic works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo and Anthony van Dyck, Diab revisits these historic compositions through his own distinctive visual language, shaped by displacement, resilience, and an unwavering belief in humanity.
Reflecting on the long journey behind the series, the artist says: “I started working on the Reimagined series in 2013 with the first work, New Guernica, a mural that marked the beginning of the series. It took me 13 years to complete this body of work, and I’m very happy to finally present it in Abu Dhabi.”
Born in Damascus in 1977, Diab’s artistic journey has been deeply intertwined with his personal experience of conflict, migration, and renewal. After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University, he established his practice across Syria and Lebanon before seeking refuge in Europe in 2015, eventually settling in the Netherlands.
Throughout his career, he has remained committed to exploring the human condition, reflecting on themes of suffering, loss, hope, and survival. Rather than documenting conflict directly, Diab seeks to reveal the enduring strength of the human spirit, emphasising compassion and optimism amid adversity. Due to his background as a stateless Palestinian, Diab has actually always been a refugee. His work has constantly reflected on the questions relating to humanity and freedom, justice and injustice, violence and struggle, human suffering and loss.
Those issues concerned him from an early age: living in a region characterised by violence and profound political turmoil, such questions are never far away. Despite having experienced war and loss first-hand, he has always been moved by compassion and by hope too – something he always wants to express in his work. In doing so, he is not primarily concerned with political issues, but with the principles of humanity. Diab presents the inner life and emotion of people living with their memories and dreams. He thus wants to identify and reveal humanity – what it is to be human, with memories, hopes, ambitions and anxieties.
In Reimagined, he enters into an artistic dialogue with history. Rather than reproducing canonical masterpieces, he transforms them, allowing centuries old images to speak to contemporary realities. His expressive brushwork, dynamic compositions, and emotionally charged palette breathe new life into familiar subjects, creating works that are at once recognisable and totally original. Among the highlights of the exhibition are two striking reinterpretations of Picasso’s monumental Guernica, revisiting one of the twentieth century’s most powerful anti-war paintings through Diab’s own lived understanding of conflict and displacement. The exhibition also includes La Coiffure after Picasso, alongside reinterpretations of Anthony van Dyck’s Jupiter and Antiope and Moses and the Serpent, as well as two evocative sunflower paintings inspired by Vincent van Gogh.
Each work reflects Diab’s ability to bridge historical narratives with contemporary experience, transforming celebrated masterpieces into deeply personal meditations on identity, memory, and resilience. While rooted in art historical references, Reimagined is not an exercise in imitation. Instead, it invites viewers to reconsider the relevance of classical masterpieces in today’s world. By filtering iconic images through his own experiences and artistic vocabulary, Diab reveals how universal themes of love, suffering, migration, hope, and human connection, continue to resonate across cultures and generations.
The exhibition demonstrates that great works of art are never static; they evolve through reinterpretation, acquiring new meanings as they encounter different histories, perspectives, and lived realities. Through this body of work, Diab creates a conversation across time, between past and present, tradition and innovation, collective memory and personal narrative. His paintings challenge viewers to see familiar masterpieces anew, revealing that the emotional power of art lies not only in its history but also in its capacity to be continuously reimagined.
“With Reimagined, Artbooth Gallery continues its commitment to presenting artists whose practices engage critically with history, identity, and contemporary culture, fostering meaningful dialogue between Middle Eastern artistic voices and global art historical narratives,” says the gallery. Diab (b. 1977, Damascus, Syria) is a Palestinian-Syrian-Dutch contemporary artist, based in the Netherlands. He developed his artistic career across Syria and Lebanon before relocating to Europe in 2015. His work has been exhibited internationally and is recognised for its expressive painterly language and its exploration of humanity, displacement, memory, and resilience.
Through richly textured compositions and emotionally charged imagery, he examines the complexities of the human experience, while affirming the enduring possibility of hope. His work has been presented in leading museums and cultural institutions, including Museum Arnhem, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Busan Museum of Art, and Samsung Blue Square in Seoul, and is held in significant public and institutional collections including the Dubai Collection, the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, and the Samawi Collection. Artbooth Gallery Founded in 2019 by Roger El Khoury, is dedicated to fostering cross-cultural artistic dialogue through a curated exhibition programme. With spaces in Abu Dhabi and Seoul, the gallery supports both emerging and established artists, presenting innovative and critically engaged contemporary art from around the world.