Born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1948, Afaf Zurayk graduated from the American University of Beirut with a BA degree in Fine Arts in 1970, and later obtained an MFA from Harvard University in 1972. Inspired and guided by both music and poetry, Zurayk’s black ink drawings explores, in her words, ‘the fluctuating gradations of emotional experience’. This is reflected in her painterly style, which is characterized by frenetic brushstrokes that capture movement and flux – a technique that also marks her figurative and portrait works. More recently, her paintings move away from this ‘murmur’ into a resounding silence, where space expands emotionally to both contain and emit energy. In addition to her many solo exhibitions, both in Beirut and Washington, DC, Zurayk has participated in a number of group shows, most notably the exhibition Forces of Change held in 1994 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC. The artist has held numerous teaching positions, at the Corcoran College of Art and Design and Georgetown University, both in Washington, DC. She currently teaches painting at the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University.
