Chouaieb Saidi
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A passionate soul, a loving heart and an inquisitive mind, Chouaieb Saidi is a full-life artist “Life itself is a white canvas, it is what we make of it” says the artist. He adds:” I want mine to be a celebration of diversity unified in a poetic harmony, this is for me the essence of beauty. Thanks to art, my life-journey has been just that; a keepsake mosaic of places I’ve visited, moments I’ve shared, people I’ve met, faces I’ve painted, and souls I’ve touched through art. People, the hundreds of thousands I’ve come across, are my fascinating source of inspiration and learning. I enjoy the uniqueness of each human being while I embrace the diversity of cultures, manners and expressions. I think good intentions is what keeps us all in harmony. Light is what I value the most, for all that it allows me to see”. Born in Tunisia in 1965, Chouaieb owes his early talent to a warm gifted family of artists, and to a sunny Mediterranean climate. He attributes his broad knowledge and expertise in visual arts and design to generations of master-artists and great teachers, added to his early passion for art and his extended experience of daily practice in fine arts, conceptual art and design. His experience has been honed by an extensive travel around the world. Chouaieb is fluent in English, French and Arabic. He is also able to communicate in several other languages. Beside the diversity of his mediums, techniques and subject matters, Saidi is largely appraised for his fascinating live-drawing and painting demonstrations of portraiture from live-modeling. Saidi’s education includes a Master’s degree in graphic design from the Technological Institute of Arts, Design, Tunis-Tunisia, a Diploma of Clothing and Fashion Design from A.F.P.A ?Cherbourg, France and from the world renowned Sorbonne University-Paris, a Master’s Degree in Applied Arts and a Doctorate of researches in visual arts. In Paris, Saidi worked for a decade as a professional artist where he quickly gained recognition as one of the most distinguished portrait- artists of Montmartre, this world-famous Parisian art district, once home to some of the most known master artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec and many others, now home to hundreds of international artists. In 1999, Saidi moved from Paris to Atlanta, GA. USA, Where he continues to paint, promote art and teaches it to art enthusiasts. He is now honored to be recognized by Georgians as one of their sought-after local artists and acclaimed fine arts instructor. He is a faculty member at the Art Institute of Atlanta- Decatur and at Clark Atlanta University, where he teaches a variety of visual arts and design subjects, including drawing, color theory, 2D design, Fashion illustration and fashion’s portfolio design. At Callanwolde Fine Arts Center?Atlanta, Saidi teaches painting and drawing. He also offers fine arts classes at his art studio in Decatur, facilitates workshops and mentors artists groups and organizations at various venues in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, The Carolinas and Massachusetts. His work has been featured on several TV channels, including CNN, NBC and FOX along with other channels in France and Tunisia. Saidi has created thousands of paintings and portraits for patrons around the world including famous figures, such as actor Charles Bronson, Cindy Crawford and James Brown whose (5×4 ft) portrait by Saidi was displayed next to his gasket during his funeral ceremony. The painting was widely broadcasted worldwide on TV screens, newspapers, magazines and the internet. This painting is in the permanent collection of Lucy Laney Museum in Augusta GA. USA. Several of Saidi’s artworks are among museums, galleries and corporates collections. Saidi has initiated and contributed to several large-scale and national projects of art and environmental design, such as an applied-arts intervention on Tunisia’s largest Park; The Belvedere Park, aiming at exploding such vast green space in a healthy, cultural and entertaining method. Also, his conceptual-art clothing project, consisting of remodeling the Tunisian traditional costume aiming at its actualization and reinvention
in a way to accommodate modern life’s fashion, styles and requirements. While elaborating on such heritage’s historic, cultural and symbolic aspects, the focus has been particularly on STRIPES, a visual structure that is omnipresent in Tunisia’s fabrics and decorative heritage. Among Saidi’s other conceptual art projects is “Spider Bench”, a metal sculpture representing an organic walking seat designed for Art on Atlanta Beltline-2015, Located on Nth Av. Bridge- Atlanta Beltline. Saidi has won numerous visual arts and design awards in USA, France and Tunisia, including in painting, graphic design, photography and video works. Chouaieb Saidi is an active member of numerous art organizations among which, “La Maison des Artistes of Paris”, “Montmartre Artists-Paris, “Tunisian Union of Visual Artists”, “The portrait Society of Atlanta”, “The portrait Society of America”, C4-Atlanta and Alternate Roots ?USA.
