City by the Sea 

Huile sur toile, 120 cm x 100 cm (47 po. x 40 po.), 2023

Abulaban uses bold strokes and vibrant colors to create a dynamic and textured composition that has a rhythmic quality, reminiscent of crashing waves. In City by the Sea, he cites the coastal towns of Palestine and how they become one with their residents. The very same seaside landscape that Maroun Tomb often depicted– as we can imagine in titles such as Haifa Port, Akka, A View in Jaffa, and others– provides a connection on a spiritual and thematic level to generations of Palestinian artists who have been influenced by the same coastline. 

Ghassan Yousef Abulaban is a visual artist who lives and works in Amman. He was born in Bethlehem, from which his family was forced to flee to Jordan in 1967 as refugees. In his art, Abulaban seeks revelation; the unique intuitive meaning of color and form emerging as a result of frustration and struggle to achieve and realize. With over 20 solo exhibitions internationally and regionally, he has participated in biennales in Venice, Lithuania, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria and Bangladesh. He is currently a full-time lecturer in painting, drawing and art therapy in the College of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan.