Layered Animal and Human Silhouettes, 2022

Habib Bida, born on February 4, 1953, in Kerkennah, Tunisia, is a distinguished painter, art critic, and academic. He began his formal art education at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts et d'Architecture in 1973, earning his diploma in 1977, which was honored with the Presidential Prize in Fine Arts. Bida furthered his studies by obtaining a Doctorate in Aesthetics and Art Sciences in 1980, focusing on the art, calligraphy, and ornamentation of Quranic manuscripts from the 9th to the 12th centuries. In 1993, he achieved a Doctorate of State from the University of Paris I – Sorbonne, with a dissertation on the concept of imitating nature in Arab-Islamic art.

Since 1977, Bida has dedicated himself to painting, participating in numerous solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Cuba, and India. His work is characterized by a harmonious blend of abstraction and figuration, often exploring the interplay of light and color to create ethereal, dreamlike compositions. Bida's paintings frequently depict human figures intertwined with animals and birds, inviting viewers to engage in imaginative interpretations of the human form.

Throughout his career, Bida has received several accolades, including the second prize at the Union of Tunisian Plastic Artists exhibition, the special jury prize at the Sharjah Biennial, the Grand Prize of the City of Tunis, and the City of Sfax Award in 2008. In addition to his artistic pursuits, he has served as a professor at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts, mentoring generations of students and contributing significantly to the discourse on art and aesthetics in Tunisia.