Dia Al-Azzawi

Dia Al-Azzawi (b. 1939) is recognized as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art. Dia Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi painter and sculptor, who was born in Baghdad and lives and works in London.

Azzawi studied at Baghdad University, obtaining a BSc in Archaeology in 1962. He then furthered his studies at the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, where, in 1964, he gained a BFA, and later also studied printmaking abroad.

After graduating and before relocating to the UK, Azzawi worked as an archaeologist and museum curator, while beginning to exhibit his art, quickly becoming a central figure on the Iraqi art scene.

Dia Al-Azzawi played a key role within a number of important art movements, including the Iraqi Artists’ Society, becoming its secretary, and founded the New Vision in 1969, while also joining the One Dimension Group in 1971. Azzawi continued to strengthen ties with artists across the Arab world after moving to London in 1976, taking on the role of artistic advisor to the Iraqi Cultural Centre and helping to organize several exhibitions.

A multi-disciplinary and prolific artist, Azzawi’s work reveals a diverse range of influences and themes spanning the rich heritage and history of his birthplace and other ancient civilizations, folklore and mythology, and modern Arabic literature. Sociopolitical issues and conflicts in the Middle East are a key focal point of many works, including the plight of the Iraqi and the Palestinian people, and his personal experience of fleeing his homeland.

Traditional motifs, such as Arabic calligraphy, Babylonian symbols and folkloric references, are hallmarks of his carefully crafted paintings, created in vibrant oils, sculptures, prints and drawings, alongside historical scenes from Iraq and elsewhere in the region. The use of calligraphy is a reminder of the key role that Azzawi has played in the development of ‘Hurufiyya’, a set of aesthetic principles for the use of Islamic calligraphy in modern art. He also often incorporates abstraction into his work, which varies in scale, from meticulously detailed small drawings to sculptures that are monumental in size.

Azzawi’s work has been exhibited in prestigious public and private collections worldwide, including: the Arab Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi; Barjeel Art Foundation Collection, Sharjah; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; the British Museum, London; Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut; Fondation Colas, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris; Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon; Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi; Hussein Ali Harba Family Collection, Milan; Ibrahimi Collection of Iraqi Fine Art, Amman; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Jeddah International Airport; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Kinda Foundation, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad; Museum of Modern Art, Damascus; Museum of Modern Art, Tunis; Nabu Museum, Chekka, Lebanon; Ona Foundation, Casablanca; Saeb Eigner Private Collection, London; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; Tate Modern, London; the United Bank of Kuwait, London; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; and the World Bank, Washington, DC.

Azzawi’s work has been featured in high-profile solo and group shows regularly since the 1960s. Recent events include a lengthy, landmark solo exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, titled ‘Painting Poetry’, which ran from December 2022–June 2023. Other recent milestones include a retrospective exhibition, titled I am the Cry, Who Will Give Voice to Me? at Al Riwaq Gallery and Mathaf Museum, Doha, Qatar, held in 2016, which featured over 500 works created over a 50-year period. Earlier key retrospectives include events at ADMAF, Sixth Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi (2009), and another at Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2001).

Azzawi’s work featured in several solo exhibitions at Galerie Claude Lemand/Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, between 1995 and 2018, including a major show in 2017, titled Dia al-Azzawi, Retrospective, de 1963 à Demain. Galerie Claude Lemand also organized a landmark solo show of Azzawi’s work in 2018 at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, titled Sabra and Shatila Massacres. The many other solo shows of Azzawi’s work held in recent years include events at Meem Gallery, Dubai, which took place between 2009 and 2021.

Azzawi has participated in several art fairs, including, most recently, the 2024 Venice Biennale and the Lyon Biennale (2022), alongside other events in Basel, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Frieze, London, and the Beirut Design Fair. Recent group exhibitions featuring his work include: Defenders of the Homeland, B7L9 Art Station, Fondation Kamel Lazaar, Tunis (2023); Palestinian Art Stands: Cultural Resistance, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait (2023); Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha (2023); Amakin, 9th Edition of 21, 39 Jeddah Arts, Jeddah (2022); Ithra, Dahran (2022); Beirut and the Golden Sixties, Gropius Bau, Berlin, Lyon Biennale (2022); Baghdad: Eye’s Delight, MIA, Doha (2022); Artists Making Books, British Museum (2022); Is it Morning for You Yet? 58th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, (2022); and Promised Land, 2nd HacerNoche, Oaxaca, Mexico (2022).

Today, Azzawi lives and works in London.