Anyone who follows the Omani art movement cannot go beyond the name of the artist Hussain Obaid, one of the most prominent names in the art scene in the Sultanate, as he has formed a distinct artistic and research presence over four decades, and contributed, with his unique style, to establishing a solid aesthetic and cognitive imprint in the spaces of Omani art and culture.

Hussain Obaid says: Through color and symbol, I sought to evoke places, times, and ancient visuals preserved in memory, linked to childhood homes, symbols, signs, and writings that were lining their walls, in aesthetic formulas that go beyond superficiality to delve into the depth of Oman’s cultural and civilizational heritage.

For more than two and a half decades, my only obsession has been to bring up themes connected to the wall; that wall in which I have found a connection to aesthetics stuck in memory. Through it, I present all the ideas, signs, and symbols that come to mind, transcending the boundaries of description into formulas that take me to distances and worlds whose eternal stability I do not know where. All I know is that there are spiritual and color antennas that are constantly expanding and are biased towards attaching the idea to the image, and entering with it into scattered places and times, aiming through action to create new channels of communication between the past and the future.

An artistic painting begins with an idea and ends with an achievement, and this achievement in itself passes through visionary distances that are only revealed at moments when the artist is in the most glowing state with the visual material. In most of my work, I rarely rely on sketches but rather leave it to the situation as it takes shape. This is followed by entering into the study of the artwork from all angles related to the composition, so that it is acceptable to insight when reading its detail.

The lettrism and writing in my artistic experience stem from a research approach to the aesthetics of the singular, through which I seek to find a combination of visuals that leads to the formulation of an artistic summary that carries renewed visual proposals, capable, with their eloquence and human language, of keeping pace with contemporary artistic discourse.

The creative artist is not a separate being from his social coordination, and his dealings with the visuals surrounding him stems from his firm conviction that what he accomplishes falls within the framework of his true formation, based on highlighting that rhetoric on the horizon, whether we agree or disagree with him in the offering.

The book (The Contemporary Omani Fine Arts Achievement) by the visual artist and aesthetic researcher Hussain Obaid, published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth in 2023, is a valuable reference for artists and researchers. It is 600 pages long, divided into two volumes and seven chapters. Each chapter contains important historical information and documents prominent milestones in the history of the Omani plastic arts movement.

Thanks to the artist Hussain Obaid.