KHALED EL MAYS

Biography

By his own admission he operates within the fine space between art and design. Taking care not to focus on mere aesthetic qualities, his work is characterised by handmade products and his meticulous choice of materials. Most of the time he opts for raw and humble materials, giving them a totally contemporary twist and a new value, from slowness of execution to knowledge of the processes, right through to the selection of precious metals and yarns or recycled leather. This all takes place is his native Lebanon, and in particular the Bekaa valley, the traditions of which, kept alive by local workshops and craft companies, he seeks to enhance, but the same happens in the places where El Mays manages to revive similar skills, for example in Naples, in the Spanish Quarters, where he met experts in the leather and iron-working industries, with whom he developed a collection of pieces. His method establishes links between cultures even in terms of his interior design. Local symbols, codes and languages resonate in the ‘fantastic landscapes’ that he creates with items and furnishings, achieving a poetic result to be digested at leisure.