About

Portrait de l'artiste peintre Roy G Sfeir
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I paint for pleasure, by necessity, because that's what I do best.

Roy G Sfeir

is a self-taught contemporary painter, born in Beirut in 1952 and based in France since 1976.
After a brief figurative period during which he painted the city and crowds, he quickly devoted himself to abstract art.
First on paper and then on canvas.
Après une courte période figurative où il peignait la ville et les foules, il se consacre rapidement à l’art abstrait.
Au début sur papier puis sur toile.

DEA in Fine Arts, Paris VIII University (1978)

Artist Statement

My work is rooted in emotion, intuition, and the constant movement of inner landscapes. I paint in layers—veils of diluted acrylic, water, and chance—allowing each gesture to reveal new depths of light, rhythm, and texture. Abstraction is my language: a space where memory, nature, and instinct coexist without the need for a defined subject.

I let the painting breathe and fulfill itself. Vertical bands, luminous transparencies, and shifting fields of color often evoke the natural world, while remaining entirely free of representation. What emerges is a balance between control and spontaneity, between what is hidden and what chooses to reveal itself.

Each canvas is the trace of a moment—a mood, a heartbeat, a breath. I paint quickly, yet never without intention. My goal is to keep the work alive, fresh, and true to the emotion that sparked it. In the end, my paintings are not answers, but invitations: openings where the viewer can project their own memories, sensations, and inner stories.

Solo & Group Exhibitions (selection)

  • Fondeca Paris 16 (Armand de Chayla Foundation, avenue d’Iéna, Paris – Solo Exhibition) Exhibition introduction text by Salah Stétié (1979)
  • Galerie Ades ( rue Castiglione, Paris ) (1979)
  • Galerie Valmay ( rue de Seine. Paris ) (1980)
  • Espace Delpha (rue de Berri, Paris – Solo Exhibition) Catalogue edition Rythmes et Traces, with a preface by Gérard Xuriguera (1980)
  • Musée Duncan ( rue de Seine, Paris ) (1980)
  • Salon d’Automne ( Grand Palais, Paris ) (1981)
  • Musée de Cagnes-sur-Mer, France: Selected to represent Lebanon alongside another painter at the International Painting Exhibition in Cagnes-sur-Mer, organized by the Lebanese Tourism Office – Mrs. Turpin (1985)
  • Galerie Matignon 36, Georges Nisenbaum (avenue de Matignon, Paris – Solo Exhibition) Catalogue edition with a preface by Pierre Assouline (1987)
  • MAC 2000 – (Grand Palais, Paris – Solo exhibitions by 130 artists at the Grand Palais) Catalogue edition (1987)
  • Pastel in Contemporary French Art (Seoul Museum, South Korea) (1986)
  • Olympiades de l’Art (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea) (1988): Represented Lebanon in painting at the Olympiades de l’Art in Seoul together with Joseph Basbous, sculpture – Triptych permanent collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea.
  • He founded Galerie Samagra, rue Jacob, Paris (1989)
  • Contemporary Art Fair (Biel) (Beirut, Lebanon) (1990–1995)
  • Galerie Samagra ( rue Jacob, Paris - Solo Exhibition ) (1991 )
  • Art Expo ( Jacob Javitz Center, New York, USA ) (2000 - 2005 )
  • Salon de Palm Springs ( Convention Center, Palm Springs, CA, USA ) (2000)
  • Affordable Art Fair ( Buttersea Park, London, UK ) (2001- 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2010 )
  • He founded Galerie Roy Sfeir, formerly Galerie du Fleuve, and paused painting for a while (2002)
  • London Art Fair ( London, UK ) (2004-2005-2007 )
  • Art London ( London, UK ) (2008 - 2010 - 2012)
  • Affordable Art Fair (Chelsea, New York, USA ) (2009)
  • Art Miami ( Miami, Floride, USA ) (2009 - 2010)
  • He starts using the pseudonym Jérôme Legrand (2010)
  • Art Karlsruhe ( Karlsruhe, Allemagne - Solo exhibition ) (2012 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2022 - 2023)
  • Galerie Samagra ( rue Jacob , Paris - Solo Exhibition ) ( 2017 )
  • Sotheby’s Paris – Art Now, February 2018 – Sale of a painting (acrylic on canvas, 100 x 81 cm) under the name Jérôme Legrand
  • Galerie Zamaan ( Beyrouth, Liban - Solo Exhibition ) (2019)
  • Galerie Samagra & Galerie Roy Sfeir ( rue Jacob - rue de Seine, Paris - Solo Exhibition) ( 2021 )
  • Beit Tabaris, Masterclass and Artist Residency in Beirut, Lebanon – Inauguration Solo Exhibition, May 2022 – October 2022
  • Le Carré des Coignard (Nogent-sur-Marne – Solo Exhibition with Martine Sousselier, sculptor) (2022)
  • Galerie Samagra ( rue Jacob, Paris - Solo Exhibition ) ( 2024 )
  • Maya Art Space (Beirut, Lebanon – Group Exhibition Whispers of Light) (2025)
  • Galerie Samagra ( rue Jacob, Paris - Solo Exhibition ) ( 2025 )
  • Permanently at Galerie Samagra since 1989 and at Galerie Roy Sfeir, formerly Galerie du Fleuve, from 2002 to 2022 (Paris)