Gallery Exit is pleased to present A sky on your pillow, a new body of paintings by Fares Thabet, the celebrated Tunisian artist whose ethereal landscapes have captured the transformative light and chromatic intensity of North Africa. Working from his studio in the bay of Tunis, Thabet continues to explore the intersection of observation and imagination, creating compositions that transcend geographical specificity while remaining rooted in Mediterranean luminosity.

Thabet's recent paintings present scenes of paradoxical complexity and serenity—works where sandy beaches blush rose-pink, seas dissolve into turquoise-green gradients, and skies transform into tangerine orange at dusk. These tranquil environments exist primarily in imagination yet bear traces of human habitation, occasionally revealing lone figures, drifting boats, or entire abandoned cities merging seamlessly with their surroundings.

Central to Thabet's practice is an intuitive approach to painting that privileges color and light as both medium and language. His distinctive process begins with walks through his surroundings, where he records landscapes using intentionally low-quality black-and-white photographs, allowing him to introduce expressive palettes at later stages. Without detailed preparatory sketches, he determines a dominant background tone first, then builds form and pictorial detail progressively, permitting unexpected discoveries to emerge during the painting act itself. Each canvas functions as what the artist describes as "an unplanned journey."

Drawing inspiration from Henri Matisse's vivid Moroccan interpretations and the enigmatic spatial vocabulary of Giorgio de Chirico, Thabet harnesses North Africa's horizontal geography and expansive spaces to create broader perspectives and atmospheric depth. His work also engages with contemporary artists including Francis Alÿs and filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, alongside literary sources such as the poetry of Derek Walcott.

This exhibition marks Thabet's continued exploration of what he terms his "personal universe"—a chromatic reverie that invites viewers into landscapes where memory and imagination coexist within the luminous certainty of Mediterranean light.