Mohammed Saleh Khalil

The artist Mohammed Saleh Khalil was born in Zarqa, Jordan, in 1960. His parents are from the village of Al-Walaja near Bethlehem, but he grew up in Damascus. He earned a master's degree in techniques of drawing, engraving, and printing in 1988 from the Academy of Arts in Dresden, Germany. After graduating, he returned to Damascus, where he held his first exhibition at the Naji Al-Ali Art Gallery. Following this, he moved to Nicosia for work, where he participated in several group exhibitions. Through his experience, Mohammed developed his unique artistic style, allowing him to hold numerous solo exhibitions, including in Paris and Amman.

In 1994, he returned to his homeland, Palestine, settling in Ramallah, where he established his own studio and founded the Visual Arts Forum, teaching art to children, adolescents, and talented youth. Since then, he has participated in local and international exhibitions. Inspired by German expressionism, Khalil paints with broad brush strokes, carefully selecting and distributing colors throughout his works, regardless of the subject. He adds a notable degree of symbolism and expressiveness to his pieces. Among the most valued awards he has received are the Jury Prize from the Alexandria Biennale in 2000 and the "Hans Grundsch" Award for Arts in Germany in 1988.

Currently, artist Mohammed Khalil works as a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Design, and Music at Birzeit University, and at the Visual Arts School in the forum.