In Pursuit of Utopia, the Palestinian landscape is presented without any disruptions; a perfect manicured landscape, that is well tended. Anani paints the picturesque hills of Palestine without the ever increasing Israeli settlements, bypass roads, roadblocks, walls and watch towers that are normally visible in every corner. He creates the Palestine of his dreams, a utopia inspired by his memories as a child growing up on the hills of Halhoul.

Anani’s work stems from his fascination with the Palestinian landscape and rural life, which are subjects that he has addressed throughout his artistic journey. In this series of work, one can rarely spot a human or their shadow, for the primary focus remains on the aesthetic of the place, giving the audience the chance to ponder and appreciate the scenic terrain.

Olive groves, cypress trees and wheat fields dot the hills and horizon as if embroidered patterns. The canvases are divided with horizontal lines and spaces inspired by the ancient terraces separating the fields, conveying a panoramic perspective and a rural ambiance.

Artist Bio:

Nabil Anani was born in 1943 in Latroun, Palestine. On graduating in Fine Art from Alexandria University, Egypt in 1969, Anani returned to Palestine and began a career as an artist and a teacher at the UN training college in Ramallah. Anani held his first exhibition in Jerusalem in 1972 and has since exhibited widely in Europe, North America, the Middle East, North Africa and Japan. Anani is a painter, a ceramicist and a sculptor using leather, henna, natural dyes, papier-mâché, wood, beads and copper. Anani was awarded the first Palestinian National Prize for Visual Art in 1997 and became the Head of the League of Palestinian Artists in 1998. After retiring from his teaching post in 2003, Anani has dedicated much of his time to voluntary pastimes, leading on the League’s activities and playing a key role in the establishment of the first International Academy of Fine Art in Palestine – with the assistance of the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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