Leech

Nour El Saleh

BornNationalityBased In
1997LebaneseLondon
Biography

Nour El Saleh is a painter whose work explores the complexities of space, selective memory, and relativity. Her paintings act as gateways to alternative universes filled with humanoid figures interacting in emotionally charged environments. These imaginative spaces probe the boundaries of attraction and repulsion, formal structures, and obsessive tendencies, while redefining conventional notions of beauty and ugliness. Bypassing preliminary sketches, El Saleh's artistic approach relies on spontaneous arrangements of lines and forms to create new narrative possibilities. She aims to develop a satirical language that captures uncanny depictions of her personal experiences. Having spent her formative years in the United Arab Emirates—a region known for its transient population—El Saleh's sense of comfort and belonging has been in a constant state of flux. Her work addresses this instability by presenting spaces that are both unsettling and strangely familiar. Through the use of theatrical and comical imagery, the artist mediates the tension between these opposing emotional forces. ...

Selected Artworks
Inhabited Props in a Box
Nour El Saleh
Inhabited Props in a Box, 2019
170 x 200cm
The Puppeteer of Karakas
Nour El Saleh
The Puppeteer of Karakas, 2019
170 x 200cm
Blue Carrying Blue
Nour El Saleh
Blue Carrying Blue, 2020
100 x 60cm
Four Times as Big, Twice as Small
Nour El Saleh
Four Times as Big, Twice as Small, 2018
250 x 220cm
(Not So) Musical Chairs
Nour El Saleh
(Not So) Musical Chairs, 2018
240 x 220cm
Wrong Side of the Table
Nour El Saleh
Wrong Side of the Table, 2019
200 x 170cm
Dance Monkey, Dance!
Nour El Saleh
Dance Monkey, Dance!, 2019
210 x 250cm
A Grand Jester
Nour El Saleh
A Grand Jester, 2019
77 x 56cm
The Basil Tree
Nour El Saleh
The Basil Tree, 2019
56 x 77cm
Where the Grass is Synthetic
Nour El Saleh
Where the Grass is Synthetic, 2020
120 x 150cm
She Appears to Have Consumed Us
Nour El Saleh
She Appears to Have Consumed Us, 2021
136 x 106cm
An Untimely Intermission
Nour El Saleh
An Untimely Intermission, 2020
200 x 170cm
Portrait of Pious
Nour El Saleh
Portrait of Pious, 2021
136 x 106cm
The Actor's Dollhouse
Nour El Saleh
The Actor's Dollhouse, 2020
200 x 170cm
The Play That Never Was
Nour El Saleh
The Play That Never Was, 2020
280 x 210cm
Maskhara
Nour El Saleh
Maskhara, 2021
20 x 25 x 5cm
Leech
Strangers, Daffodils and a Couple of Loose Artichokes
Nour El Saleh
Strangers, Daffodils and a Couple of Loose Artichokes, 2022
59 x 83.5cm
Tropical Serenade
Nour El Saleh
Tropical Serenade, 2022
42 x 59cm
Sorry Pre-Chopped Onions are Out of Stock
Nour El Saleh
Sorry Pre-Chopped Onions are Out of Stock, 2020
127 x 84cm
Téléphone Cassé
Nour El Saleh
Téléphone Cassé, 2019
230 x 190cm
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