Fateh Moudarres studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Rome, from 1956 to 1960. He later travelled to Paris, where he graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in 1972. It was during his time in the French capital that he began to explore his cultural heritage, particularly the forms found in ancient and primitive art—previously he had been more influenced by European art movements such as Surrealism. Moudarres was also trained by the celebrated Syrian neo-classicist painter Wahbi al-Hariri, who introduced him to fellow artist Louay Kayyali. Upon his return to Syria, Moudarres taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus. He was profoundly affected by regional political events, most notably the Lebanese civil war, and used his art to raise awareness about such issues. A prolific artist, he continued painting until his death in 1999.
Moudarres participated in numerous exhibitions and international biennales including the 1960 Venice Biennale (with Louay Kayyali), the 1963 Sao Paulo Biennale (where he received the Medal of Honour), and the Arab Culture Fair, Montreal, 1976 (with Kayyali). His work is held in private and public collections including Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; National Museum, Ministry of Culture, and Dummar Museum, Damascus.