Profile: American Painter Nabil Mousa

MOUSA: A NEW AMERICANA  (summer 2015)

      If you don’t know the name you might soon learn it.  After all, if the artist has it his way, his name will be as familiar as Pollock, Warhol or Goya.

     Co-owner of Gallery 874 in West Midtown, Nabil Mousa has big dreams.  He has been a guest at the big art fairs and is very aware of what it takes to become a collected fine artist.  The works he creates are big, and they have meaning.

     “To be a successful artist you have to treat your art as a business,” said Mousa. 

     Born in Syria and educated in the United States, the Artist Mousa incorporates the cultural tensions of both countries into his artwork, combining them with his own personal convictions. 

     At a recent exhibition, two female patrons stood for 45 minutes looking at an American flag painting. The painting conveys the lack of understanding for the USA on the world stage.  To see it correctly, viewers are asked to think about the flag as if they were born in another country.  

     “It’s so fantastic,” said Abha, an Atlanta woman originally from India.  “Our first learned bias is to appreciate the flag---from whatever country we are born---the most.  When I see the flag of India, it makes me want to cry.  It’s patriotism.”

     A majority of Mousa’s work could be interpreted as ‘controversial’.  Although there are no nudes, and no language to call offensive.  In most cases, language is represented in the works by colored dots.  

     “Mousa is my creative side, almost like double personalities I guess,” said the artist.  “We all have them whether we are aware or not. Mousa is the defiant one in me who wants to make it all happen. He will not accept ‘no’ for an answer. What Nabil dreams Mousa creates.”

     Current works seem to symbolize his new life in the United States.  Politics is omnipresent in Mousa’s work, as well as equality standards taught in the United States.  

     Yet Mousa’s interest in all aspects of life has been the common thread in his works.   “I think the color orange in the paintings represents fear,” said a fan.  “Fear is the reason poor decisions are made, and people become oppressed.”

     At 49, Mousa has done more than 3000 paintings.  His work is of the highest quality, because Mousa uses expensive oils and finishes to create a story within. 

      To schedule a tour of the works, contact Curator Scott Richter at the web site http://www.gallery874.com
 
---Ray Macon