Youssef graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University in 1976. Not long after, he was held as a political prisoner before being forced into exile. Abdalki moved to Paris, where he obtained a degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts. His oeuvre is punctuated by still lifes, which serve as commentary about the turmoil in Syria. 

Abdelke’s works can be found in public and private collections worldwide including institutional presence in the British Museum and the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.