Influenced by the natural elements around him, Jamil Kasha sculpts in tune to the organic form of the material itself. He explains: “My relationship with a stone could last many years and I cannot work on a piece of stone unless I love it. Then I start playing with it and reshaping it in my hands, trying to escalate its visual state to reach the result I want… I am not concerned about the way to deal with the material, but I work instinctively and interact with it without preconditions. Restrictions limit creativity, and the most important thing is to communicate with the sculptural work to reach the real value that gives it importance."
Born in Jisr Al Shughour, Jamil Kasha (1958) graduated from the Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University in 1985. Using raw materials in his sculptures, Kasha sculpts busts of figures – mostly women and elements from his environment such as fish, birds and mountain beetles. Abstract and symbolic, the work takes on a primitive form reminiscent of a hybrid between artworks from early civilisations and abstract contemporary work.
Kasha has exhibited throughout Syria at venues such as the National Museum of Aleppo and Damascus National Museum, showing internationally in Lebanon, Kuwait and the Netherlands.