Born in Karak, Jordan in 1955. Khreis studied painting, sculpture and printmaking in Spain, Italy and Mexico, obtaining a Ph.D. in Fine Arts (cum laude) from the University of Barcelona in 1993. He received the Medal of the Commander of the Order of Civil Merit, awarded by King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 2004; the National Award for Excellence in Art, Amman in 1995; and the First Prize, Joan Miró International Contest from the Spanish Arab Institute in Madrid in 1985. Khreis lives and works in Amman, where he is currently Director General of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.

"Art, to me, is a matter of existence, and I cannot imagine it being otherwise. I belong, broadly speaking, to the expressionistic school, although I do not believe in categorizing the artist in one restrictive style or direction. I believe in artistic freedom. The creative process, in my opinion, is a venture into the unknown. I need to surprise myself before I surprise others, and what I create within me is the result of feelings, reactions and accumulations of knowledge - both visual and intellectual - from my environment, travels, readings and everyday life. There is a fine line between what is obvious and what is implied - I allow my audience a wide margin of interpretation. My current work is entitled "Nostalgia." The paintings are reflections of a genuine human condition emanating from the heart."

Khalid Khreis