As an artist, my mission is to catch the eye, tickle the heart and liberate the mind.

Zahir’s traditional upbringing in the countryside of Algeria combined with his many travels in young adulthood has lent him a unique perspective on life. His paintings illustrate the transformation of his identity and the dichotomy between the two cultures he has embraced through different times of his life. Zahir uses vibrant colors to depict his joy of life growing up in the Mediterranean  contrasted with western concepts, expressions or metaphors  in a surrealist way to illustrate the clashing ideas in the society as well as on an individual level. Through humor and hyperbole he demonstrate the deeper themes behind his artwork. His whimsical touch is both thought provoking and laughter instigating.

Artist bio and statement

As an artist, my mission is to catch the eye, tickle the heart and liberate the mind.

Zahir Abid, born in Seddouk, Algeria, grew up in nearby village, Tiwal. Tiwal is a beautiful, lush, yet poverty-stricken village in the majestic mountains of Kabylia. It is a region devastated by the war for independence and where schooling is in its most precarious state.

Despite Zahir’s attendance at elementary school at a late age, he was not prevented from obtaining his baccalauréat two years ahead of schedule.

In 1977 he attended the University of Algiers where he quickly immersed himself in a student movement demanding the recognition of the then banned Amazigh language (His native North African language) and to democratize the system of governance.

Due to the brutal government’s crush of the movement in 1982, he had to flee the country. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium.

In 1985, he returned to Kabylia to visit his family. However, the Algerian authorities prevented him from leaving the country. Six months later, Zahir successfully fled the country again.

On September of 1986, Zahir immigrated to the United States where he struggled frequently struggled with little to eat and occasionally was without shelter.

Zahir’s tumultuous journey has shaped his unique perspective on life in a way that makes his painting’s viewers laugh while reflecting; a vision in which tragedy is expressed with a smile.

His paintings are whimsically thought-provoking.

Zahir traveled and hitch-hiked all across Western Europe and the continental United States, living in many different cities along the way. While in Washington DC, he became a member of Studio Gallery, the oldest cooperative art gallery in the nation’s capital. 

Despite the need to constantly work often low paying jobs, Zahir’svision grew and crystalized in an unconventional way, never beingswayed from pursuing his favorite form of expression-painting.

Around 1993 he moved to New England (Northeastern United States).

Zahir currently lives in Middletown, Connecticut and works for the United States Postal Service. 

Zahir has had many exhibitions in recent years both in the United States and abroad, including Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Beijing, China , Assisi, Italy, Cologne, Germany, and Paris, France. Zahir’s paintings can be found in several European countries and the United States, among many other places.