Over 50 Years of Art | Welcome to Ali Omar Ermes

AL-KHAA AL-ASHHAB

Al-Khaa Al-Ashhab (1998) is a powerful example of Ali Omar's inimitable interpretation of the Arabic letter. Using the letter khaa as the focal point of the work, he evokes a sense of swiftness and speed in its delineation. The monochrome palette is a deliberate play on the name Ash-hab, which means greyness.

Elegantly rendered lines from a poem by the tenth-century prince and warrior, Abi Faris Al-Hamadani, echo the curves of the letterform. The poem, which describes Al-Hamadanis willingness and ability to counteract pain and disappointment, to remain positive during hardship, and on the noble way to treat others, adds another dimension to the meaning of the work, while the formal inclusion of the text adds a delicacy to the overpowering presence of the central motif.

Original name (Arabic): الخاء الأشهب
Original production date: 1998
Image Size: 152cm x 122cm
Materials: Acrylic on paper, mounted on canvas
Location of Original: Private Collector

ALIF SUCOON

With eight lines of the poem by Muaan Ibn Aws. The verses describe the poet’s stand for honour, rejecting and condemning corruption and social decay.

This is one of a series of four Musical Alifs each with different short vowels, the others being Alif Kesrah, Alif Fethah, and Alif Dhammah, the respective sounds given to the letter by the short vowels are i, a and u, the succoon of the Alif Succoon meaning silence. Thus the artist engages with the expression of the poem, using form, colour, texture, and sound, by using the four vowels of the Alif in its four degrees from low to high.

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TUGHRA

This vibrant piece contains the verse from the learned philosopher-poet Abul Ala Al Ma’arri, in which he says:

“When I utter the implausible, I can shout it out loud without fear or favour, but when I speak of the truth I have to whisper”

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HARF UL DAL

This piece is about the power of the single stroke technique which Ali Omar Ermes employs as a hallmark of a number of his works.

It explores the vast richness of the Arabic language and the magnitude of the depth of expression in Arabic with the simplest and most direct method or as complicated as you wish.

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Clients

A selected number of artworks by Ali Omar Ermes have been acquired by public/private collectors, individuals and corporations. Below are some of his clients that own a piece of his work:

The British Museum

10 Downing Street

Mobil

Merrill Lynch

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

Freer Sackler

Wereld Museum

Investcorp

LACMA | Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Contemporary Art from the Islamic World

Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts

Barjeel Art Foundation

Meem Gallery

Written Art Foundation

Arab Heritage Gallery

Rose Issa Projects

Egee Art Consultancy

Saudi Aramco

BP

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Malaysia Airlines

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

Riyadh King Khalid International Airport

Prince's Trust

Arab Banking Corporation

Maybank

USA Embassy

Japan Bank for International Corporation

Balai Seni Lukis Negara - National Art Gallery Malaysia

Uniteers Outdoor Advertising

United Engineers Malaysia

Beit Al Quran

Centre of Islamic Culture

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

A number of museums and galleries have exhibited artwork by Ali Omar Ermes from all over the world. Much of his artwork has been displayed in some of the most important museums including Tate Gallery, The State Hermitage Museum and many others: