Fouad Elkoury
Born in 1952 in Paris, Fouad Elkoury moved to London to pursue a degree in Architecture. After completing his studies in 1979, he turned to the visual arts. Elkoury, like many contemporary Lebanese artists, captures visceral memories of civil war through photography, seeking to reclaim the medium from colonial doctrine. His poetic gaze is translated into his works in a way that transports the viewer to a different time and place, serving as a reminder of the various transitions over time.
Elkoury's work portrays the turbulent past of the Middle East as well as daily life in the present. Capturing political, social and cultural nuances through photographs, the artist responds to past and present conflict that surrounds him. Scarred buildings and landscapes, the remnants of combat are woven into a body of work that is both informative and narrative. Images at once tragic and tender, are published in books that have a continued resonance today. With a natural affinity for liminal spaces, Fouad captures moments that leave the viewer unsure if they are observing a state of becoming or unbecoming. Recent works evoke a sense of disillusionment, but also acceptance of that which cannot now be undone.
Fouad has held numerous international solo exhibitions including:Preserving Time, Photographers Gallery, London, UK (2023); Suite Egyptienne, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2017); Blue for the Orient, Rodeo gallery, London, UK (2016); Le Plus Beau Jour, Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden (2016); The Lost Empire, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany (2015); Suite Egyptienne, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon (2015); The Lost Empire, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE, (2014); Le plus beau jour, Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, Paris, France (2014); Be....longing, Beirut Art Center, Beirut, Lebanon (2011); What Happened to my Dreams?, Galerie Gilles Peyroulet, Paris, France (2010); What Happened to my Dreams?, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2009).
Selected group exhibitions include: Arab Presences: Modern Art And Decolonisation: Paris 1908-1988, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, France (2024); Love Songs: Photography and Intimacy, International Center Of Photography (ICP), USA (2023); Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2022); There Is Fiction In The Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2020); Home Beirut. Sounding the Neighbors, MAXXI, Roma, Italy (2017); NO TO THE INVASION: BREAKDOWNS AND SIDE EFFECTS, CSS Bard Galleries, New York, USA (2017); Don't You Think It's Time For Love?, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia (2016); Do It, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE (2016); Migrantes en el arte contemporaneo, Centro de Art Contemporaneo, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2015); Here and Elsewhere, New Museum, New York, USA (2014); The Sea is my Land, MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2013); Roundatable, 9th Gwanju Biennial, Gwangju, South Korea (2012).
Fouad's works are part of permanent collections including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Maison Europeenne de la Photographie in Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and Solidere in Beirut.
He currently lives between Paris and Beirut.
Hot Spots
A Collaboration Between Tabari Artspace and The Third Line9 Jan - 10 Mar 2025Hot Spots is the first collaborative exhibition between Tabari Artspace and The Third Line at Sotheby’s, Dubai. This exhibition is part of Sotheby’s ongoing collaboration with regional galleries and brings...Read morePerpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking
Curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif19 Dec 2022 - 29 Jan 2023Perpetual Inventory and Dr. O’s Pop Shop at The Third Line, Dubai this December. The Third Line presents Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1 and Dr. O’s Pop Shop: The Live Edition,...Read moreTHERE IS FICTION IN THE SPACE BETWEEN
23 Mar - 30 Jul 2020The Third Line is pleased to present There Is Fiction In The Space Between , a group exhibition celebrating the gallery’s fifteenth anniversary. This exhibition draws on the breadth of...Read moreSUITE EGYPTIENNE
Fouad Elkoury13 Apr - 16 May 2017The Third Line is pleased to present Fouad Elkoury’s fourth solo exhibition in Dubai Suite Egyptienne , an account of the artist’s photographic travels through Egypt starting in the late...Read more
Fouad Elkoury's Photography Finds Poetry Amid Destruction
Olivia Snaije, New Lines Magazine, February 6, 2025Perpetual Inventory And Dr. O’s Pop Shop
Selections Magazine, December 31, 2022HIGHLIGHTS from photographer Fouad Elkoury’s work at Dubai’s The Third Line gallery
Adam Grundey, Arab News, January 8, 2021Timelines and topographies step up at The Third Line show
Muhammad Yusuf, Gulf Today, December 29, 2020The Third Line At Art Basel 2018 As The GCC's Sole Representative
Katrina Kufer, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, June 14, 2018Layered Histories
Aesthetica Magazine, April 5, 2017
Join our mailing list
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.