Born in Beirut, Henry Jabbour trained as a biologist and for many years pursued a successful career as a medical scientist, obtaining both a BSc and PhD. In 2010, he decided to follow his passion for art and become a full-time artist. He studied at Leith School of Art, Edinburgh, from 2010 - 2013, obtaining a Diploma in Drawing and Painting. He then went on to New York Academy of Art and graduated in 2015, obtaining a Masters of Fine Art and Printmaking (MFA).
His paintings focus on the human figure, exploring the emotive qualities of the body through colour and mark making.
Jabbour’s work is a journey and a constant search between the visual and the emotional. He seeks to subvert the specific in search for the universal, attempting to connect the vulnerability, fragility and impermanence of our experiences with a sense of common and shared humanity. Jabbour is interested in the emotive qualities of body gesture, colour and mark making and thrives on working intuitively. His process embraces both the familiar and the unexpected, and combines observation, memory and intuition. When he is painting, Jabbour feels he is excavating those memories, and feelings, and in the process he is building and excavating paint on the canvas.
Most of his work has a biographical element and digs deep into the essence of his history, past and present. They are his stories woven with imagery and colour. What thrills Jabbour is when his work weaves itself into the biography of others who connect with it.
'I want each piece to develop a visual presence that is independent of me, or my original artistic intentions, so that the viewer can continue the search that I have initiated.'