Footnotes

Provenance:
Property of a private collection, London
Acquired in Abu Dhabi in circa 1980s

"I'm from the generation which was very much fascinated with identity, we had to create something different, something related to our own history....Iraq is not just a piece of land with a flag and a national anthem. Iraq is the inner soul which kept me working for all these years"
- Dia Azzawi


The present lot is exquisite example of Dia Azzawi's work from the early 1980's; having left Iraq and settled in London, Azzawi's oeuvre gave way to a more exuberant, animated palette, and saw him experiment with a variety of media and styles, all the while remaining faithful to the genesis of his oeuvre; the veneration of his native Iraq and its fertile artistic legacy.

This large and impressive gouache typifies the rich tonal and compositional vigour which are the central elements of his style. Dramatic primitive forms are delineated with a cascade of primary colours, which coalesce into a tightly composed abstract bundles. Azzawi typically incorporates structures and visual symbolism harking back millennia in his paintings, which is evident here in the pseudo-figurative form depicted in the composition, which recalls ancient Mesopotamian bass-reliefs and their mythological imagery.

Azzawi's abiding love and respect for the natural world shines through in this work, which echoes the formal approach and inimitable style, characteristic of the 'New Vision' school of painting he founded in 1969. Here, he foregrounded the use of bold outlines, attention to detail, and improvisational techniques.

Dia Azzawi is internationally recognized as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art. Over the span of a 40-year career, Azzawi has explored subjects ranging from the political to the ancient history of Iraq, through painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, and book art. He lives and works in London but continues to derive inspiration from his homeland, Iraq.

With exhibitions of his work held worldwide, including a landmark retrospective in 2017 at Qatar's MATHAF, his art features in the collections of some of the world's most prestigious museums and institutions. He is also regarded, in the tumultuous post-conflict climate of 2000s Iraq, considered to be the ultimate authority on modernist and contemporary art from the region.