Khaled Jarada (b. 1996, Gaza, Palestine) captures figures caught within unfolding moments. His compositions are marked by a quiet tension: bodies appear off-balance, restless, and subtly displaced, inhabiting spaces that feel both immediate and estranged. At times, these precarious arrangements carry a muted, almost wry humour—gestures that hover between awkwardness and intention.
Jarada’s exploration of this condition is deeply informed by his experience of exile. Born and raised in Gaza and recently moved to Paris, he engages the emotional and spatial dislocations of displacement while resisting fixed structures or singular narratives. Instead, he turns his attention to the overlooked—mundane gestures, peripheral spaces, and fleeting encounters—elevating them into sites of contemplation, care, and quiet idealization.
Jarada has presented solo exhibitions including Réflexes at Gallery M, Paris (2025); In-Between at Teatro do Bairro, LEFFEST, Lisbon (2024); and Non-Key Frame at Fann À Porter, Dubai (2024). In 2026, he received an Honorary Mention for the Reiffers Art Initiatives Prize.
His work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions across Europe and the Middle East, including Freeing the Voices, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France (2026); Tinkering with the unknown, Reiffers Art Center, Paris, France (2026); Dissonant Shelters, 229 Lab, Paris (2025); Résistances, Maison des Sciences Sociales et des Humanités, Dijon, France (2025); What the Eye Brought Back, P420, Bologna, Italy (2025); Key of Return, Potassi K19, Barcelona, Spain (2025); Les Déplacés: Histoires d’Exil, Abri Mémoires, Alsace, France (2024); Mémoires de Demain, Institut Franco-Allemand, Ramallah, Palestine (2024); Étrangers dans leur Patrie, Palestine Museum, Venice, Italy (2024); Rituels, Poush Space, Aubervilliers, France (2023); Palestine, Entre Existence et Exil, Maison de l’International, Grenoble, France (2023); Art Now, Gallery One, Ramallah, Palestine (2021); Digital November, Institut Français, Gaza, Palestine (2021); Géographies du Lieu Divin, Cultural Center, Ramallah, Palestine, and Maison de la Culture, Al Ghussein, Gaza, Palestine (2021); and Artistes de l’Espoir, Shababeek Contemporary Art Center (2020).
