Preparations are underway for the opening of two major exhibitions next week by internationally-acclaimed Iraqi artists, Dia al-Azzawi and Mahmoud Obaidi.
Presented by Qatar Museums (QM), each of the exhibitions, which in part will focus on key moments in the political history of Iraq and the Arab world, are to showcase works from these two talented artists from two different generations.
Taking place simultaneously at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the QM Gallery Al Riwaq for the first time, the ‘I am the cry, who will give voice to me? Dia al-Azzawi: A Retrospective (from 1963 until tomorrow)’ will cover 9,000sqm and include more than 500 works.
Al-Azzawi’s exhibition will open at Mathaf on October 16 and at Al Riwaq on the 17th, and will run until April 16, 2017.
A day later, QM will present Fragments, an exhibition by Mahmoud Obaidi, which will run from October 18 to January 30, 2017 at QM Gallery in Katara – the Cultural Village Building 10.
The two artists are longstanding friends, having first met in Amman in 1993. Since then, they have worked on a number of successful projects together, and al-Azzawi continues to act as a mentor to Obaidi.
In a recent interview between Obaidi and art curator, critic and historian of art, Hans Ulrich Obrist, he said: “Dia is a very important person who kept Iraqi art together, he is the backbone or spine of Iraqi art. He was the rope who connected us all. Today we still have this network between us because of him.”
Al-Azzawi is a renowned artist who has exhibited extensively and played an important role in the promotion of Iraqi and Arab art to international audiences.
The artist has been in exile from Iraq for more than 30 years and currently lives and works in London. Obaidi (b.1966) is an Iraqi-Canadian contemporary artist.His conceptual body of work addresses critical issues of injustice and inequality in everyday life. With a caustic approach to current political debates, Obaidi deconstructs judgments, labels and stereotypes that create a constant state of tension.