Douglas Abdell

Douglas Abdell
Douglas Abdell
Born	1947; Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation	Sculptor
Years active	1970–present
Known for	Sculpture, bronze casting, welded steel, carved stone, painting, mixed media collages

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Douglas Abdell, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 1 December 2025

Douglas Abdell (b. 1947) is a sculptor from the United States, currently residing and creating art in Málaga, Spain.

Early life and education

Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1947, Abdell is of Lebanese and Italian descent. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Syracuse University in 1970.

Career

Abdell’s artistic practice centers on cast and welded bronze, welded steel, and carved stone. During the early 1980s, he expanded his repertoire to include oil paintings, acrylic works, and mixed media collages. For more than three decades, his creations have explored political and social issues connected to Mediterranean cultures, with a particular emphasis on Phoenician and Arabic heritage, incorporating their iconography and scripts. His chosen media comprise cast bronze, carved stone, and etching techniques. He is based in Málaga, Spain, where he continues his work.

Solo exhibitions

1971 – Graham Gallery, New York City.
1972 – Graham Gallery, New York City.
1977 – Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York City.
1979 – Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York City.
1979 – Park Avenue, New York City.
1981 – Amerika Haus Berlin, West Germany.
1981 – "Berlín Phoenaes", Mike Steiner Studio Galerie, Berlin, Germany.
1981 – Dartmouth College Museum & Galleries Beaumont-May Gallery, Hanover, New Hampshire.
1981 – Marisa del Re Gallery, New York City.
1982 – Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York City.
1983 – Gallozzi-La Placa Gallery, New York City.
1983 – "Douglas Abdell: New York City Tables", Zero One Gallery, Los Angeles.
1985 – Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston, South Carolina.
1991 – "La Quarta Guerra Punica", Galleria Massimo Riposati, Rome, Italy.
1991 – "La Quarta Guerra Punica", Galleria Agorá, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
1995 – "La unió dels Estats Fenicis", Pati Llimona, Barcelona, Spain.
1996 – "La unió dels Estats Fenicis", Casal de Vespella de Gaiá Catalunya, Pati Llimona, Barcelona, Spain.
1996 – "Abdell, Unión de Los Estados Fenicios", Museo Pablo Gargallo, Zaragoza, Spain.
2005 – "Abdell, El retorno del Fenicio", Museo de Adra Centro de Arte, Adra, Almería, Spain.
2017 – "Abdell, El retorno del Fenicio", Museo de Chiclana, Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain.
2018 – "Abdell, El retorno del Fenicio", Museum of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain.
2019 – "Abdell, El retorno del Fenicio", Antonio Gala Foundation, Córdoba, Spain.
2021 – "Douglas Abdell: Reconstructed Trap House", Ab/Anbar Gallery at Cromwell Place, London.
2022 – "Douglas Abdell: Yads, Phoenaes, Aekyads 1971-1981", MAMCO Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland.
2024 – "Douglas Abdell: Intervalism and Other Mathematics", Ab/Anbar Gallery, London.

Group exhibitions

1978 – "Painting & Sculpture Today" - Contemporary Art Society of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1980 – "Douglas Abdell and Mia Westerlund: Sculpture and Drawings" - Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York.
1983 – "La Scuola di Atene" - XVII Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte di Acireale curated by Achille Bonito Oliva; venues included Acireale and Rome in Italy.
1984 – "Written Imagery Unleashed in the 20th Century" - Fine Arts Museum of Long Island in New York.
1986 – "Erratici Percorsi" - XIX Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte di Acireale at Palazzo di Città in Acireale, Sicily.
1987 – "Erratici Percorsi" - XIX Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte di Acireale at Castello Colonna in Genazzano near Rome.
1989 – "Artoon: L'influenza del fumetto nelle arti visive del XX secolo" - Palazzo Civiltà del Lavoro in Rome.
1990 – "Art=Money?" - The Gallery in New York City.
1991 – "Art=Money?" - Hokin Gallery Miami & Palm Beach in Florida; Ayzenberg Gallery Los Angeles in California.
1992 – "Art=Money?" - Massimo Riposati Gallery in Rome.
2020 – "Writing by Drawing. When language seeks its other" - Contemporary Art Center in Geneva.
2021 – "Artissima" Art Fair in Torino.
2021 – "Dimensional: 3D Works from the Figge Collection" at Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa.
2022 – Third Geneva Biennale-Sculpture Garden in Geneva.
2023 – "Uncharted Echoes" curated by Bartomeu Mari for Ab-Anbar Gallery in London.
2025 – "In Course of Acquisition" - MAMCO Geneva x artgenève at Palexpo in Geneva.
2025 – "HAFLA: A Celebration of Middle Eastern Art" at Sotheby's London.

Museum and Public Collection Holdings

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
H. H. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, located in Lugano, Switzerland
Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas
Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, New York
Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College
McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas
Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas
Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa
John Jay Park at East 76th Street & York Avenue, New York City
Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archives, Miami, Florida
Tabor College located in Hillsboro, Kansas
Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina
Quadrat Museum in Bottrop, West Germany
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi
Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Stanford University in Stanford, California
Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris, France
MAMCO (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art), Geneva, Switzerland
Barjeel Art Foundation based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Sursock Museum located in Beirut, Lebanon
Museion (Bolzano), the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Bolzano, Italy

Bibliography

John Canaday, Art: The Sculpture of Upper Volta, The New York Times, 1972
Carolyn Swartz, Heavy Metal on Park Avenue (film documenting sculpture installation), New York City, 1981
Achille Bonito Oliva, La Scuola di Atene: il sistema dell'arte, Florence, 1983
Achille Bonito Oliva, Erratici Percorsi, Rome, 1987
Lidia Reghini Di Pontremoli, Transavanguardia in mostra ad Acireale - Il cielo scolpito da fasci di luce, Acireale, 1987
Achille Bonito Oliva (editor), Artoon: L'influenza del fumetto nelle arti visive del XX secolo (exhibition catalog), Rome, 1989
Achille Bonito Oliva (editor), Arie. Rassegna internazionale di giovani scultori, Rome, 1991
Achille Bonito Oliva (editor), Abdell: la quarta guerra punica, Rome, 1991
Lidia Reghini Di Pontremoli, I segni del fenicio, Rome, 1998

External links

wikiart.org: Douglas Abdell's artworks
askart.com: Douglas Abdell biography
Douglas Abdell: Sculptures from 1992 to 1995
M=Agua series by Douglas Abdell: abdellmagua.eu
Amerika Haus: Douglas Abdell: neue Skulpturen Exhibition catalogue
Brooklyn Museum: Drawing for the Sculpture "Pnauxae-Aekyad" (1977)
Harvard Art Museums: Douglas Abdell