Practicing in several media including tapestry, sculpture and painting, Aref El Rayess developed an interest in abstraction but was also influenced by his travels across West Africa, which prompted him to incorporate folkloric and mystic motifs into his work. As a self taught artist he held his first exhibition at the American University of Beirut in 1948 and following that, he moved to Paris where he worked and trained in the studios of André Lhote, Fernand Léger, Marcelle Marso, and Ossip Zadkine while also studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. After several years living between Senegal and Paris, he returned to Lebanon only to receive a government scholarship in 1956 to continue his training in Rome and Florence. In 1963, he finally returned to Beirut where he taught fine arts at Lebanese University and served as the President of the Lebanese Association of Painters and Sculptors. He exhibited internationally and received numerous awards for his work. After his death, the Aref El Rayess Foundation was established in his honour.