Mohamed Saleh Khalil

Mohamed Saleh Khalil is a Palestinian painter, born in 1960 in Al-Zarqa, Jordan, and based in Ramallah. His paintings are built from wide brushstrokes, carefully placed colour and symbolism, and his 2026 series shows bouquets of flowers standing in vases.

Born to parents from Al-Walaja, a village near Bethlehem, Khalil grew up in Damascus. He took an MA at an art academy in Dresden in 1988, specialising in painting, etching, engraving and printing techniques. His galleries describe the painting as inspired by German Expressionism. In Rose-like, 2026, he turned to bouquets in vases whose flowers resemble roses without quite being them.

His first exhibition after Dresden took place at Naji Al-Ali Art Gallery in Damascus. He then worked in Nicosia, where he took part in group exhibitions and went on to hold several solo exhibitions. In 1994 he settled in Ramallah, opened a studio and founded the Young Artists Forum, which teaches art to children and teenagers. He has headed the fine arts programme at the Palestinian Ministry of Culture. In 2000 he won the Jury Prize at the Alexandria Biennale.