Kareem Risan

Born in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq, Kareem Risan studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Baghdad, graduating with a degree in painting in 1988.; he was a soldier during the Gulf War and witnessed the post-2003 US invasion of Iraq. Risan worked out of Baghdad amid the escalation in violence and political turmoil following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 His work reflects his experiences of living through war and invasion
Risan reflects on the complexities of Iraq’s turbulent cultural history through periods of tragic destruction, resurgence and growth in his paintings and book works.
Risan uses art making as a way to capture the shifting social and physical landscapes of his homeland, highlighting the carnage caused by war. His technique, drawing on the nuanced history of modern painting in the Arab world, combines regional motifs and abstract modern forms. Often weaving text and drawing, with heavy layers of paint and saturated hues, Risan narrates a story of the after-effects of war through colour and form. Layers of subdued greys, blacks and browns with splashes of blood red reflect Iraq like an injured body with an indefinite recovery.
His solo exhibitions include the Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, 1992; Dar Al-Mashriq Gallery, Amman, 1997;  Al-Riwaq Gallery, Bahrain, 2005, and Gallery Hittite, Toronto, 2009. Risan has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions including Between the Tigris and Euphrates, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, 1988; The Chair Exhibition, Darat Al-Funun, Amman, 1994;  Contemporary Iraqi Art, China International Museum, Beijing, 2001; The Broken Letter: Arab Contemporary Artists, Kunst Gallery, Darmstadt, 2003; Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, travelling exhibition, 2005–08; Word into Art, British Museum, London, 2006; Modernism and Iraq, Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, 2009; Iraqi Artists in Exile, Station Museum, Houston, Texas, 2009; Beyond the War, LTMH Gallery, New York, 2010, and Art in Iraq Today (with Ghassan Ghaib and Nazar Yahya), Meem Gallery, Dubai, 2010. Risan’s work is held in the collections of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Kinda Foundation, Saudi Arabia; British Museum, London, and Athar Gallery,
He left in 2005 He has lived and worked in Toronto, Ontario since 2006.