2008, 2009, Past Exhibitions

IRAQI ARTISTS IN EXILE

Past Exhibition

NOVEMBER 1, 2008 - FEBRUARY 15, 2009

IRAQI ARTISTS IN EXILE

Station Museum of Contemporary Art

Category

2008, 2009, Past Exhibitions

ALI TALIB ALKAYALI, "Mesopotamia", 2004, mixed media on paper, 29.75” x 22”, Collection of Tala Azzawi

ALI TALIB ALKAYALI, “Mesopotamia”, 2004, mixed media on paper, 29.75” x 22”, Collection of Tala Azzawi

IRAQI ARTISTS IN EXILE

Featured Artists:

SHAKIR HASSAN AL SAID
ABDEL-KARIM KHALIL
HANAA MAL-ALLAH
ALI TALIB ALKAYALI
FAISEL LAIBI SAHI
DIA AZZAWI
AYAD ALKADHI
MOHAMMED AL-SHAMMAREY
JANANNE AL-ANI
MAHMOUD AL-OBAIDI
NEDIM KUFI
HIMAT MOHAMMED ALI
RAFA AL-NASIRI
KAREEM RISAN
SADIK KWAISH ALFRAJI


Iraqi Artists in Exile is the second museum-level exhibition of contemporary Iraqi Art in the United States. It follows the ground-breaking exhibition Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art, organized by Nada Shabout. It consists of thirteen artists who have been forced out of Iraq and two artists, the late Shakir Hassan Al-Said and Abdel Karim Khalil who lives in Baghdad. The artists in this exhibition are important because they are among the few remaining bearers of Iraqi culture who have survived the American onslaught.

Let us take serious notice of the fact that Baghdad was until recently one of the great cultural centers of the Near East. The arts have flourished there for seven thousand years. As a result of the U.S. war and occupation, the culture of Iraq has been severely damaged, if not virtually destroyed. The National Museum has been looted, the National Library has been burned, the Museum of Modern Art has been pillaged, and the universities and schools have been destroyed or ruined along with the book stores, art galleries and artists studios. Artists, poets, film makers, intellectuals, and professors have had their lives threatened and have been forced out of the country. Many of them have lost their life’s work. Nevertheless, these exiled artists have gone on to create new artworks that not only reflect the pain but also the collective creative imagination of the Iraqi people.

Iraqi contemporary artists connect the modern era to the ancient past, keeping Iraqi traditions alive and at the same time, they communicate their search for new ways to express their existence in a modern context as exiles from terrible wars. One of the artists, M. Al Shammarey explained, “It would be impossible to call yourself an artist if there is no reference to the war in your work. The war is the time you are living in.” In this way and because of the high quality of their art, Iraqi artists are making a unique and timely contribution to world culture.

Like Vietnam, Iraq will unsettle our personal and national conscience for years to come. Americans should feel ashamed, disgusted, and outraged by the United States government’s war against Iraq – a war justified by government lies that has not only consumed thousands of U.S. soldiers but also the lives of more than a million Iraqi civilians, mainly women and children. In addition to this horrific crime, the U.S. war and occupation are responsible for the wanton destruction of the cultural patrimony of the Iraqi people, for erasing their history, and for leaving them at the mercy of military and mercenary occupiers, corporate exploiters and common criminals.

Will the world ever forgive the United States for the genocide and destruction of Iraq?

James Harithas
Director

Alan Schnitger
Chief Curator

This Exhibition is Dedicated to
SHAKIR HASSAN AL SAID


SHAKIR HASSAN AL SAID, "Tamziq no.1", 1991, mixed media on wood, 43” x 31.5”, Collection of Tala Azzawi
ABDEL-KARIM KHALIL, "We are Living in an American Democracy", 2004, marble, 16” x 6” x 9”
HANAA MAL-ALLAH, "Map of Iraq", 2008, oil on layers of burnt canvas, 78.75” x 76”
ALI TALIB ALKAYALI, "Mesopotamia", 2004, mixed media on paper, 29.75” x 22”, Collection of Tala Azzawi
FAISEL LAIBI SAHI, (from the series), "War", 1972 – 1999, ink and graphite on paper, 40 drawings, dimensions vary
DIA AZZAWI, "Bilad Al-Sawad No. 7", 2006-2007, mixed media on canvas with fiberglass sculpture, 82.5” x 74.75”
AYAD ALKADHI, (from the series), "I am Baghdad I - VI", 2008, mixed media on Arabic newspaper on canvas, each 48” x 48”
MOHAMMED AL-SHAMMAREY, "Unidentified Man", 2008; "Unidentified Woman", 2008, mixed media on canvas, each 8.8’ x 4.25’
JANANNE AL-ANI, Stills from the film: "Muse", 2004, 7 c-prints, each 36” x 48”, Commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and Norwich Gallery, Photographs: Effie Paleologue
MAHMOUD AL-OBAIDI, "Turtles", 2005, paste, sand, and gypsum, 48 sculptures each 3.9” x 6.5” x 9.4”, installation dimensions vary
NEDIM KUFI, "Home/Empty", 1966/2008, 2 digital prints on canvas, each 9.8’ x 6.5’
HIMAT MOHAMMED ALI, "Al Mutanabbi Street", 2007, mixed media on paper slip case and 12 bound books each containing 6 pages, each 13.4” x 10.25”, Collection of Tala Azzawi
RAFA AL-NASIRI, "Al Mutanabbi Street", 2007, mixed media on paper mounted on hinged wood frame, each panel 12” x 6” (extends to 36”)
KAREEM RISAN, "Al Mutanabbi Street", 2007, mixed media on paper mounted on board cover with 4 pages, each 16.5” x 16.5”, Collection of Tala Azzawi
SADIK KWAISH ALFRAJI, "Born April 9th", 2009, Station Museum of Contemporary Art
SADIK KWAISH ALFRAJI, "In the Name of Freedom", 2007, ink and rice paper on canvas, 10’ x 25.75’
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