Hussein Madi (Lebanese, b. 1938)

Hussein Madi's work is characterized by his fusion of European and Islamic influences. Drawing inspiration from Western artists such as Matisse and Picasso, Madi combines this with the principles of divine harmony that inform the abstract designs of Islamic art. Whether in two or three dimensions, the seeming spontaneity of Madi's lines belies the exacting calculations which underlie them, a combination of meticulousness, sensuality and his belief in God's universal order in which everything is composed of the same fundamental elements.