Dia Azzawi: Painting poetry

Conference item : Exhibition

Dia al-Azzawi (b. Baghdad, 1939) is considered one of the Arab world’s most influential living artists. Best-known for large colourful paintings, his work embraces many other media and draws on the visual heritage of Iraq to reflect contemporary struggles and collective concerns.

Azzawi spent his formative years in Baghdad, immersed in its effervescent art scene and actively shaping the direction of mid-century Iraqi modernism. In 1969 he founded the group known as ‘Towards a New Vision’ and co-authored its manifesto, which called for an exploration of the past to forge a relevant artistic language for the present.

After moving to London in 1976, Iraq’s cultural heritage acquired a fresh meaning, prompting him to rediscover traditions like Islamic illustrated manuscripts and to engage with other creative practices. Poetry became an inherent part of his work, providing not only a creative stimulus but also a storehouse of visual associations. This interest also gave rise to a distinctive genre called dafatir (Arabic plural for ‘notebooks’), where texts and images merge to create a wholly new form of artistic expression.

This exhibition, the first UK solo exhibition dedicated to Dia al-Azzawi, celebrates dafatir as a way into the practice and inspiration of this influential modern master.

Authors: Leoni, F

• Publisher: Ashmolean Museum
• Event title: Dia Azzawi: Painting Poetry
• Event location: Gallery 8, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
• Event website: https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/dia-al-azzawi-painting-poetry
• Event start date: 2022-12-16
• Event end date: 2023-06-08
• Language: English
• Keywords: middle eastern art; modern and contemporary art
• Subtype: Exhibition