Born in Damascus, Mohamad Omran (1979) graduated from the Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University in 2000. He obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Lyon and a PhD in art history from the University of Lyon II.

Working in sculpture, painting, and sometimes video art, the motif of the tortured human being has been Omran’s central theme. Influenced by the war in Syria and his vision of humanity, he has created different series of works, from sculptural busts of distorted faces to depictions of people containing animal metaphors or slouched over drawings of exhausted ordinary people. Omran is able to evoke empathy, disgust, anger and dark humour in his work with a directness and cynicism that fluctuates between violence and lightness.

Mohamad Omran has won several awards, and held solo exhibitions in Lyon, Paris, and Damascus. He has also participated in group shows in France, England, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. His work is part of numerous private and public collections including the Royal Museum in Jordan and the British Museum in London.