Mony Zakhour builds compositions that seem to be constantly in motion. Shapes overlap, lines interrupt one another, gestures emerge and disappear, creating dense visual worlds that sit somewhere between instinct and control. Working primarily in contemporary abstraction across canvas and large-scale murals, he describes this language as “designed chaos” — an accumulation of marks that is gradually shaped through line, shading and structure. 

What draws us to Mony’s work is that tension. At first, the eye doesn’t quite know where to land. Then fragments begin to reveal themselves and the apparent disorder starts to feel intentional. There is energy in the work, but also restraint — a sense that every layer has been allowed to move before eventually finding its place.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia to Lebanese immigrant parents, Mony’s practice has never remained fixed. Earlier work moved through portraiture and urban landscapes before abstraction became his primary language. More recently, the figure has begun to reappear: recognizable silhouettes containing interiors filled with colour, gesture and fragmented form. 

That evolution is part of what keeps the work compelling. There is always something underneath the surface waiting to be found.