Ayyam Gallery DIFC presents ‘Silence’, a solo exhibition of Syrian artist Khaled Takreti. Departing from his usual heavily saturated candy coloured canvases, a subdued palette of sepia and grey tones and stark backgrounds render this body of work more engaging as the viewer is able to quietly impose onto the world of these silent characters. In many of the portraits there is an almost palpable loneliness, yet there is no sense of weakness in Takreti’s characters. They stare directly at the viewer, almost challenging him to ponder over the internal thoughts lying behind their detached facades.

Takreti states that his desire with this series is to present a less romantic, more contemporary view of external life. His paintings are a mirror of himself, and at present, with the turmoils facing his homeland of Syria, they illustrate the pain he experiences during this difficult period, a time which has drained the colour and narrative from his works.

Working with unprimed canvas bearing its natural texture and ecru surface, he renders his subjects in grey tonalities like a captured photograph. His figures stand silent and sparse, leaving the viewer to colour them with their individual interpretations.

Though the artist prefers not to provide his own interpretations for each piece, he does acknowledge the irony present in many of these works. Takreti’s paintings are decidedly truthful and as a result, the images and emotions conveyed transfer directly from his heart to the heart of others.