Born in 1974 in Beirut, Lebanon, Hussein Baalbaki is a contemporary artist whose work explores reinterpretations of abstract Expressionism. His paintings are characterized by their thick textures and subtle soft colors. Baalbaki is a graduate of the Lebanese university's institute of Fine Arts in 2002. He was a participant of the 2003 and 2005 Tehran Biennials, and was honored with a special prize. In 2008 he made his first solo debut at Agial art gallery in Beirut with the exhibition “Accumulation of time” a body of small and large-scaled abstractions that garnered critical attention. In 2012 he had second solo exhibition entitled “Four season’s songs”. In 2013 he exhibited his third solo exhibition “Garden of the soul” at Dar Al Funoon Gallery -Kuwait. He participated in many collective exhibition since 1999. Hussein’s works have been offered at auctions multiple times, “Hidden Inside” was sold at Christie’s in 2011 and “The Red Orchard” was sold at Christies in 2012.
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The thick application of medium in his paintings makes for a textured surface that offsets the subtleness of a soft palette. The artist describes this striking presence as "a kind of isolation in the composition of the work (that serves) to introduce a sensitive illustration of the entity of the work, [which is] derived from internal nature, such as cave walls."
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This "illustration" invokes a particular state or human experience that possesses its own distinct philosophy. The implication of light that is seen with the manipulation of color is essential to his paintings as it indicates variation and movement and suggests infinite space and time.