Halim Al Karim

Leading  contemporary  artist  Halim  Al-Karim  continues  to  become  more  famous  year  on  year.  He  was  recently  featured  in  the  Glasstress  2017  exhibition  at  the  Fondazione  Berengo  for  the  57th  Venice  Biennale.  In  his  engraved  Murano  glass  mirror,  the  artist  expressed  the  trauma  of  his  exile,  fleeing  the  mandatory  military  service  and  hiding  in  the  desert  for  three  years,  during  the  first  Gulf  War.  This  exile  has  in  fact  largely  impacted  his  art  and  Al-Karim  is  widely  known  for  his  photography,  which  carries  mystical  and  spiritual  aspects  that  he  often  covers  with  a  layer  of  silk  to  blur  the  image.  His  work  is  a  reflection  of  the  impact  of  violence,  both  physical  and  psychological,  and  draws  from  his  influence  of  Sufi  values  and  the  ancient  Sumerian traditions of his ancestors. The  Sin  of  History  is  one  of  the  artist’s  early  works. Painted after the start of the Iraq War, it seems to be evoking the crimes of war through the  intense  red  and  dark  colours  and  looking  back  at  the  souls  of  the  martyrs  of  his  native  Iraq. The minimalist square shapes in the work underline  its  power  and  the  artist  beautifully  highlights  his  hope  with  sparkling  gold  leafs  across  the  handmade  palm  tree  paper,  a  meaningful symbol of his identity. To day,  living  between  Denver  and  Dubai,  Al-Karim  has  also  been  exhibited  at  the  Iraqi  Pavilion  of  the  54th  Venice  Biennale  -the  first  Iraqi  Pavilion  for  36  years-  and  his  works  are  collected  by  prestigious  institutions  such  as  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum  in  London,  the  Mori  Art  Museum  in  Tokyo,  the  Institut  du  Monde  Arabe  in  Paris  and  the  Barjeel  Art  Foundation in the UAE.