Riad Nehme

Riad Nehme (b. 1968) is a multi-disciplinary, prize-winning Iraqi artist. He studied at the University of Baghdad, obtaining a BA in Fine Arts in 1992, before leaving Iraq in 1997, travelling first to Damascus. Nehme eventually settled in Beirut, where he lives and works today.

Human suffering lies at the heart of Nehme’s deeply contemplative practice, encompassing both the anguish and trauma he experienced and witnessed in his homeland and also pain on a broader, societal and regional scale.

In Nehme’s paintings, he peels away the layers to seek out the core of human emotions which he highlights through his figurative compositions, offering viewers an insightful glimpse of his subjects’ innermost feelings and experiences through their intensely expressive features.

Nehme has also experimented with new materials and techniques over the years, augmenting his paintings with printing and photography, among others, adding elements such as posters and graffiti to his works for added effect.

“I am keen in every exhibition to use new techniques to highlight within the content of my work the pain that man experiences,” he has said.

Nehme’s philosophy is to the fore in a high-profile solo show held at Dar el-Nimer, Beirut in 2023, in which several paintings feature clowns as the main subjects. Titled ‘Nothing’, the show sees Nehme take inspiration from the poem of the same name by Mahmoud Darwish, with his symbolic protagonists often displaying distorted features, enigmatic expressions perhaps masking their real feelings or, in some cases, wearing traditional attire, yet bearing a red nose. “Concealing their personal anguish within life’s daunting trials, individuals project an alternate facade of laughter and joy. In essence, we are all clowns,” he said ahead of the show.

Nehme also drew on Darwish’s poetry in a solo show held at Art Scene Gallery, Beirut in 2022. Titled ‘I Am the Constant Departure to the Country’ - a line featured in Darwish’s poem ‘Ahmed Al-Zaatar’ - the exhibition included several paintings whose subjects were conveyed from the back, giving the impression they were preparing to leave, in a poignant reminder that displacement and separation are recurring themes in Nehme’s work.

Earlier exhibitions of Nehme’s art, include events at: Art on 56th, Beirut (2016); Almarkhiya Gallery, Doha, Qatar (2015); CAB Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2013); Solidere, Beirut (2013); Dar Al-Anda Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2011); Rafia Gallery, Damascus, Syria (2011); and Dar Al-Anda Gallery, Amman, Jordan.

Nehme’s work can also be found in public and private collections worldwide, including in several international museums.

A prolific artist who has worked across three decades, Riyad Nehme was awarded the British Council Prize in Syria in 2000.