Dia al-AZZAWI (Iraq, 1939).

Lives and works in London.

Recognized as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art, Dia al-Azzawi’s body of work spans over forty years. Al-Azzawi started his artistic career in 1964, after graduating from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and completing a degree in archaeology from Baghdad University in 1962; his studies of ancient civilizations and Iraqi heritage have had a profound impact and continued impact on his art. He moved to London in 1976. Al-Azzawi’s art draws inspiration from his homeland, and covers a range of subjects executed in a variety of media, he is a painter, sculptor, book artist and promoter of young Iraqi creation. Numerous personal exhibitions in galleries, international fairs, museums and art centres. Public and private collections throughout the world: British Museum, World Bank, Institut du Monde Arabe, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ona Foundation, Kinda Foundation, Mathaf of Qatar, Tate Modern, ... Passionate about graphic arts and publishing, he has produced a multitude of original prints, portfolios and artist's books and has played a major role in the creation and dissemination of modern Arab graphic arts in Europe, the Arab world and throughout the Americas. His work has consistently constructed autonomous visual worlds parallel to those of poets, with an equal mastery of ancient and recent Western techniques: engraving, lithography, silk-screening and digital.