Salah Elmur

Salah Elmur (b. 1966, Khartoum, Sudan) is a painter based in Cairo, Egypt. His paintings draw on 1960s Sudanese studio portraiture and on the photographic archive of Studio Kamal, his family's studio in Khartoum. Figures and animals appear in earth-toned landscapes, painted in a manner that moves between figuration and abstraction. Elmur also writes and illustrates children's books.

Elmur works from flawed prints found in his father's photography studio, such as double exposures and blurred faces, and from photographs bought from collectors in Cairo. Paintings include Black Dog and Water Tank (2022), Farewell Wall (2024) and Fire Behind the Mountain (2025). For the series The Innocent Prisoners he painted Sudanese victims of state censorship and repression, working from mug shots. In 1990 his cover image for the magazine Sudanow was censored; he was jailed for a week and then left the country.

He graduated in graphic design from Sudan University in Khartoum in 1989. Solo exhibitions include Sharjah Art Museum (2018), Vigo Gallery in London (2022) and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai (2026). His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Centre Pompidou, Zeitz MOCAA and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Mariane Ibrahim has represented him since 2024.