Is it the proper time to talk about Iraqi modern art amidst the turbulent Iraq passage toward new political and social metamorphoses? Absolutely, for nations were initially born through the original expressions of individual and shared feelings, ideas, concepts and ideologies transmitted and illustrated through the medium of art. Equally true is the survival of nations and the preservation of their heritage, history and national pride through art in all its forms and styles. No country will ever survive if its art dies. What’s left from the might and glorious past of Rome are not the centurions, the Roman saber or the military genius of Julius Cesar but, the temples, the frescoes, Via Apia, the Latin literature and the Roman law, in brief the Roman Art. What’s left from the illustrious history of the Egyptian civilization is not the military might of the Pharos, the bowed arch, the war chariots but, the pyramids of Giza, the temples of Luxor, the art treasures, the tomb paintings and unsurpassed ancient Egyptian architecture. In other words, the Egyptian Art. What’s left from the fabulous Hellenistic culture and history is not the formidable “Water Fire” of their mighty naval forces, the swords and shields of the Macedonians or the strategic genius of Alexander the Great but, the glorious temples of Athina, the Pantheons, the teachings of Sophocles, Aristotle, the superb Greek statues, and the magnificent Greek frescoes, In short, the Greek Art! Thus, it is always proper and necessary to talk about art, to nourish art and to protect art in order to revive and preserve a nation. Art is an immortal human necessity. If art never existed, humanity would have not lasted throughout centuries.

Photo: Hiriz by Faraj.

Politicians, strategists, diplomats and urban architects are working on re-building Iraq. And that’s is fine. But, without preserving the modern art of Iraq, this glorious country will never survive. Thanks to remarkable efforts and devotion of Iraqi Mecenes, artists and arts protectors such as Maysaloun Faraj, Zainab Mahdi, Lamia Jamal AL-Talabani and others, Iraqi modern art will bloom and flourish. Those who are not familiar with the contemporary abstract and modern arts movements in the Middle and Near Eastern countries might think that, Iraq is not a rendez-vous for modern artists. In fact, Iraq gave to the world fabulous modern and abstract artists. It would be impossible to list all of those superb artists, for the list is endless. Current statistics show that Iraqi artists are nowadays among the world’s modern art leaders. They frequently exhibit worldwide and particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. What a delight to write about Iraq Fist Ladies of Modern Art: GRANDE DAMES OF THE IRAQI MODERN ART: Maysaloun Faraj, founder of the AYA Gallery in London, Zainab Mahdi, founder of the DIJLA Gallery in Baghdad, Lamia Jamal AL-Talabani, LEILA KAWASH and BATOOL AL-FEKAIKI.

Maysaloun Faraj : THE FIRST LADY OF IRAQI CONTEMPORARY ART

'Art is a language,' says Maysaloun Faraj, 'it allows you to express everything which you experience', wrote Faraj.

Faraj’s biographer wrote: “Maysaloun Faraj was born in USA in 1955 to Iraqi parents She received a BSc in Architecture from the University of Baghdad in 1978 and has been resident in London since 1982. Her medium is mainly ceramics and her work is clearly underlined by her background as an Iraqi, an Arab and a Muslim. Faraj's inner feelings and emotions erupt to form objects that proudly embody her own sense of history, identity and faith. Affected by the catastrophe that befell Iraq, her work is a symbolic attempt at recreating and preserving that which is destroyed and that which remains precious - her homeland.