Abstract Calligraphy on Textured Brown Background, 2016

Melehi Afnan (1935–2016) was a prominent Palestinian-born artist whose work is often associated with the broader Middle Eastern modernist movement. Born in Haifa, then part of Palestine, Afnan later lived and worked in Beirut, Kuwait, Paris, and London. Her practice spanned painting, drawing, and mixed media, frequently exploring themes of memory, language, and displacement. Afnan’s distinctive visual language is characterized by layered surfaces, calligraphic marks, and abstracted scripts, reflecting her fascination with the written word and the traces of history.

Afnan’s work has been exhibited in major institutions, including the British Museum in London, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. She participated in significant group exhibitions such as “Forces of Change: Artists of the Arab World” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. Her art has also appeared at leading auction houses, with works offered at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, underscoring her enduring appeal among collectors of Middle Eastern modern art. Throughout her career, Afnan’s evocative compositions have contributed to the global recognition of artists from the Arab world.