Ali Sarmini
Encyclopedia

"I have represented their crimes on the weapon they used to commit them"
-- Ali Sarmini

Dr. Ali Sarmini ( ), is a world renowned Syrian painter, best known for his work Quneitra on Remains painted on parts of an Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

 F-4 Phantom shot down over Syrian territories, in about 1972.

Biography

Born in 1943, in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, Syria, he studied Fine Arts in University of Damascus
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine and the Institute of Law , also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria...

, graduating in 1972, and where, two years later, he began lecturing in Fine Arts. Sarmini later achieved a doctorate in Fine Arts from the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

-Weißensee Academy of Arts in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. From 1981 to 1991 he was Vice-Dean, from 1993 to 2001, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, at the University of Damascus
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine and the Institute of Law , also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria...

. He attained a professorship degree in 1993.

Sarmini has exhibited internationally, including in Germany and Russia.

"Quneitra on Remains"

Sarmini's three art work pieces (from different parts of an F-4 Phantom) were created in 1974, and were presented the same year to Syrian president Hafez Assad. It is believed that the Syrian president subsequently gifted one part to the USSRs ambassador to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Nuratdin Muhitdinov, and another to US diplomat Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...

. The fate of the third piece was unknown until recently, when it was reported that it had been rediscovered in Moscow, and put up for auction. It was presented on 18 July 2007 to the Moscow House of Nationalities, by author and Syrian ambassador to Russia, Hasan Rische.

External links

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