BURHAN KARKUTLI

Born in Damascus, Burhan Karkutli (1932–2003) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo in 1952 and worked for a short period as a professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University. For stretches of time, he travelled to Spain, Morocco, Mexico and Venezuela, and in each of those places, was involved in the artistic scene and in activist movements. He eventually settled in Germany, where he lived until the end of his life. Inspired by folk-art movements, Karkutli depicted activist causes. He was best known for his works illustrating the Palestinian struggle and was one of the founding members of the Palestinian Artist Federation in Beirut. His black and white drawings contain both human and animal characters drawn with his signature style of simplified forms and shapes. He embellished these characters with motifs and patterns which filled the spaces between the thick black outlines. His oeuvre spans across various media including posters, book covers and editorial illustrations. Not only a visual storyteller, in his later years, he was also known as a “hakawati,” narrating stories to an audience.