Tony Khawam
Yellow Cab Broadway
1980

About the Item

Khawam’s first genre of paintings started in 1980 during the heights of the Superrealism movement in New York City where Khawam was the youngest among the group and in his first year of undergraduate art studies at the School of Visual Arts. The hyper realistic painting series he created was influenced by the surrounding objects of New York city reflective surfaces, such as window display, glass building façade, and metallic cars in the streets of New York. The objects and scenes in Superrealism paintings are detailed to create the illusion of a new reality that does not exist in the original photo. Textures, surfaces, lighting effects and shadows are often painted to appear clearer and more distinct than the reference of a photo or even the actual subject. Hyper-realist style emphasizes detail rather than the subject. The paintings are not literal illustrations of a particular scene or subject, but rather use subtle pictorial elements to create the illusion of a reality which in fact either does not exist or cannot be seen by the human eye. The paintings may incorporate emotional, social, cultural and political thematic elements as an extension of the painted visual illusion. Hyperreal paintings and sculptures further create a tangible solidity and physical presence through subtle lighting and shading effects. Shapes, forms and areas closest to the forefront of the image visually appear beyond the frontal plane of the canvas; and in the case of sculptures, details have more clarity than in nature. Hyper realistic images are typically ten to twenty times the size of the original photographic reference source, yet retain an extremely high resolution in color, precision and detail. Many of the paintings are achieved with an airbrush, using acrylics, oils or a combination of both. Certificate of authenticity will be sent with the painting.

Creator:

Tony Khawam (1959, American)

Creation Year:

1980

Dimensions:

Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)

Medium:

Acrylic

Movement & Style:

Photorealist

Period:

1980-1989

Condition:

Gallery Location:

West Palm Beach, FL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU1970213408962

View Invoice

Shop All

Tony Khawam born in Aleppo, lives and works in South Florida, USA. Khawam received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY (1985) and a Master in Commercial Art from Montclair State University, NJ (1987). He is deeply rooted in his Middle Eastern heritage and the American experience through histories, current events, and the surrounding urban landscape with influences of post-war German and American art. His heritage paintings are formed by ideas about today’s socio-cultural issues such as social disruption, displacement, and immigration, intertwined with the American culture. Khawam has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums and a recipient of recent awards including the “Artist Support Cultural Grant” Broward County Cultural Division, FL (2021/22); the “American Rescue Cultural Grant” National Endowment for the Arts through Florida Division of Arts & Culture (2021); “Individual Artist Award, Specific Cultural Project”, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (2021); the “Creative Investment Program Award” Broward County Cultural Division, FL (2020). He is a panelist for Grant programs and public art appointed by the Broward County Cultural Division, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and a participant in numerous workshops including “Artists at the Community Development Table” Americans For the Arts (2019); and the “Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute” Broward County Division of Culture, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2019). Khawam’s work is included in numerous museums, private and public collections throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. He has given “Artist talk” and participated as a panelist at several art institutions. Khawam has been interviewed by and published in Sky News Arabia, Boca Raton Magazine; Miami Shoutout Magazine; WLRN Public Media, Miami PBS-NPR; Palm Beach Illustrated; Aventura Magazine; Lifestyle Media Group; News Break Michigan (9/2020); Brooklyn reporter News (10/2019); Artrepreneur Media (9/2019); Voyage Miami Magazine (1/2018); NJ Savy Living magazine, NJ (5/2000); The New York Times, NY (7/1998), to name few.