This is the 13th in a bi-monthly series featuring Jordanian artists.
By Hada Sarhan
AMMAN – Jordanian artist Mohammad Jaloos believes that “art is a product of inner conflicts and memories that are all melted into one pot,” said Jaloos, who studied painting at the Jordan Institute of Fine Arts in the late 1970s.
“My works’” he explained, “are the product of happiness and sadness.”
Humans share universal convictions and feelings, which can be presented anytime in a work of art, according to the artist.
Jaloos, who has participated in a large number of local and international group exhibitions, believes that travelling has expanded his artistic connection with the world.
This experience gave him a clear view of art movements from a universal prospective.
“He who travels a lot knows a lot,” said the artist.
Critics believe that Jaloos is driven by an artistic ambition. “To accomplish it he has to deploy his abilities as his weapon and the audience as the target of his battle,” said art critic Mohammad Abu Zreiq.
“I do not worship the (art) experience, I love it, which makes me able to turn my back on each piece and look to the next one,” said Jaloos, who also holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Jordan.
His techniques shift from one piece to another. ”But the jumps are governed by a splendour of vision on the one side and by an innovative modern artistic vision on the other,” stressed Abu Zreiq.
“The artist’s role is to absorb the differences around him, to experience new and wide horizons, and keep the process of discovery on,” added Abu Zreiq.
Born in Amman in 1960 to a family of eight brothers and sisters in Al Wihdat camp, Jaloos finishes his primary and secondary education in UNRWA schools.
He also published a collection of short stories in 1984 entitled ‘Memory of a Side Street’ about his childhood memories.
He currently works as a teacher and coordinator of the Art in Al Asriyya Schools. Department
Jordan Times