Athier Mousawi

Athier Mousawi (b. 1982) is a contemporary visual artist who was born in London. The son of the Iraqi sculptor and painter Maysaloun Faraj and the architect Ali Mousawi, Athier Mousawi studied at Leeds University, graduating with a BA (Hons.) in Graphic Design with Marketing in 2005. He then obtained an MA in Communication Design and Illustration from Central Saint Martin’s in London in 2007. Mousawi’s other qualifications include a BTEC Animatics for Animation from The Lighthouse, Brighton, achieved in 2009. The following year, he moved to Paris and began his journey as a painter at the Cité Internationale des Arts.

Mousawi has become known for producing artworks that indicate diverse influences, ranging from European Modernism to contemporary Iraqi art. Over the years, he has shown a tendency to shift between representation of structure and form, and expressive colour and mark-making in his practice. 

Most recently, his art has revolved around the idea of letting go and allowing space onto his canvas, in works that reflect and are aligned with the uncertainty of the world around him. 

In many of these works, Mousawi creates carefully designed three-dimensional scenes, in which he explores how elements are able to co-exist in harmony, whether colliding, floating or moving. These objects are rooted in the wide-ranging assortment of artefacts that surround Mousawi in everyday life, from rubble and plastic toys to geometric blocks and marble slabs, and then combined with patterned forms.

Colour has long been a priority for Mousawi in his practice and, while at times he has opted for a bold palette, more recently, his choices have been more ethereal, giving his works a nostalgic and luminescent dimension.

Mousawi’s work has featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Recent solo shows include: ‘If These Walls Could Talk, They Would Scream’, Mark Hachem Gallery, Paris (2024); ‘Melting a False Moment’, Janet Rady Fine Art, Cromwell Place (2023); ‘Nothing Is Certain Everything is Melting and That’s Okay’, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai (2020); ‘Fade and Float’, Kuwait Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait (2019); ‘All Things Come Apart’, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai (2018); ‘After Denudation’, Ayyam Gallery, Beirut (2017); ‘Machine Hearts’, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai (2016); Ayyam Gallery, Beirut (2015); ‘Improbable Possibilities’, Ayyam Gallery, London (2014); ‘Man Of War’, Edge Of Arabia Projects (EOAP), London (2014); ‘You’ll Never Thrill me, because you’ll Never Kill Me’, Ayyam Gallery, Beirut (2013); ‘The Birth and Destruction of an Eagle II’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2013); ‘Hold me In’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2012); ‘The Birth and Destruction of an Eagle’, Poligon, Istanbul (2012); ‘The Circle’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2012); ‘Chasing Mirrors: My Portrait Shape by Shape’, National Portrait Gallery, London (2011); ‘Fragmented Events: New works by Athier’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2011); ‘I’m A Hero’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2011); and ‘Kalimat’, Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, Dubai (2010).

Mousawi’s  work has also featured in numerous group shows including, most recently: Art Dubai (2015); Art Abu Dhabi (2014); ‘Fluid Forms II’, Seoul, South Korea (2014); ‘Contemporary Uprising’, Nest Gallery, Geneva (2014); Art Dubai (2014); START Fair (EOAP booth), Saatchi Gallery, London (2014); Art 14 (EOAP booth), London (2014); Editions #1, Crossway Foundation, London (2013); START Show, Dubai (203); ‘Artist Against Hunger’, Dubai (2013); ‘Artist Encounters’, ‘Forever Now Exhibition’, Mathaf, Doha, Qatar (2013); Contemporary Istanbul (2012); The Empire Project Booth, Istanbul (2012); ‘Domination, Hegemony and the Panopticon’, Traffic Gallery, Dubai (2012); Tashkent International Art Biennale, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2011); ‘Art Beat’ International Art Fair, Istanbul, (2011); ‘Mir Faberge’, The Royal Academy, London (2011); ‘JAMM February’, Kuwait (2010); ‘New Art From The Middle East’, Redchurch Gallery, London (2010).

Mousawi has also taken part in several residencies and education projects in the UK, the US, Lebanon, France, Palestine, Qatar and Jordan. These include: NYCAAEI ArtX Residency, New York (2018); Beirut Art Residency, Beirut (2015);  Cite Internationale des Arts, Al Mansouriyah Foundation, Paris (2010 – 2012); ‘Chasing Mirrors’ [lead artist], National Portrait Gallery, London (2011); and Arab Artist in Residence, British Museum, London (2007-2009).

Today Athier Mousawi works in Paris and Los Angeles, where his current studio is located.