Fine Art Portfolio
This fine art portfolio, belonging to Jordanian artist and painter Ruba Saqr, encompasses a selection of paintings in various mediums. The artworks here tackle a diverse range of subjects, referencing the food culture and identity of the Mediterranean and the Levant, aka “Bilad al-Sham” in Arabic.
These oil, acrylic, gouache and ink works of art are a personal memoir of the Middle Eastern and North African culinary heritage – through the lens of a native female artist. Immersed in multiculturalism, her current artworks act as a visual conduit to personal stories that revolve around food, identity, spirituality, womanhood, and nostalgia.
Mediterranean, Levantine and Middle Eastern Paintings: A Multicultural Narrative
About the artist and her multidisciplinary approach to creativity
In addition to specialising in food and travel illustration, Ruba Saqr is an artist and painter from Jordan, with roots and family links across the Levant, North Africa and the Mediterranean, including Italy. She works in a variety of mediums such as oil paint on canvas, acrylic on canvas, gouache on paper and ink on paper. She is also a multidisciplinary creative who has worn many hats – as opinion writer, editor, reporter, PR director and musician.
Her works of art are prominently inspired by childhood memories, where she spent countless hours in the cross-cultural kitchen of her late grandmother, a true daughter of “Bilad al-Sham.” This Syrian matriarch was a well-rounded gastronome, a well-versed home cook, and a well-travelled poet.
In fact, the artist’s passion to paint stories that reflected different aspects of the Mediterranean and Levantine food culture came to life after she started researching the culinary history of her region a few years ago. Back then, it was a simple attempt to reconnect with her grandmother’s (and her own) heritage.
About a decade following her grandmother’s passing, Ruba’s artworks started to reflect a deep connection with her roots, which in turn helped shape her overarching artistic vision. This is why the recurring themes of food, travel, adventure, exploration, cultural diversity and identity are visible in Ruba’s body of work.
Years later, Ruba’s forays into researching, illustrating and painting Levantine foods culminated in her writing several opinion pieces about food. Those op-eds were for a weekly column at a local newspaper on the topic of cooking and identity in a turbulent region.
Tackling the same topic from different perspectives and through different disciplines is the hallmark of this artist’s approach to creativity. In other words, food can be painted, illustrated, and written about – allowing these disciplines to inform one another in a myriad of ways.
Chronicling Levantine and Mediterranean food culture through a woman’s lens
From authentic Arab and Levantine dishes to traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking utensils, Ruba’s paintings tell the story of a region blessed with an exquisite and rich gastronomic inheritance and a complex tapestry of flavours. Ruba’s paintings share a common theme, showcasing her deep infatuation with food culture across the Mediterranean, the Levant, North Africa and the Middle East, where she hails from.
Her art portfolio chronicles communal Arab and Levantine rituals that revolve around the table: The Friday Middle Eastern breakfast, or in many cases, brunch. Gatherings around mint-infused tea and homemade Arabic sweets and desserts. And difficult recipes like Kousa Mahshi (stuffed zucchini) and Kibbeh (stuffed bulgur dumplings).
Mesmerised by the rich catalogue of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean patterns, Ruba likes to incorporate motifs that normally adorn Moroccan, Italian, and Syrian tiles and ceramics into her works of art.
Designs that show up across the region’s traditional handcrafts and textiles are also a source of inspiration for her art. The artist also draws inspiration from architectural features and materials used in old buildings in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially those characteristic of the old neighbourhoods in Amman, Damascus and Beirut.
Overall, Ruba’s artworks aim to highlight the Levant’s rich cooking traditions by painting famous as well as little-known dishes and meals that hail from Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.
These paintings often feature the hand of a woman coring zucchini, or simply reaching out for a bite. It is a reminder that cooking lives at the intersection of cultural identity and symbolism, gender politics, food politics, historical and personal narratives, and, above all, our sense of belonging.
Art Portfolio: Painting Style & Mediums
Selected Original Artwork
(Coming soon)