Nazar Yahya

Nazar Yahya was born in Baghdad in 1963. He began exhibiting in Baghdad in the late 1970s, and earned his B.F.A. at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1986. As a student, he was impressed by a Polish art instructor at the Academy but he cites as his major influence the Spanish abstract expressionist painter, Antoni Tapies [born 1923].

“The shadow of war is cast over all of my work, and over the works of all of Iraqi artists,” says Nazar. “This became clear as I studied the works of the German Expressionists. I came to understand that as young artists going through World War I, they were bearing much of the same emotions that we Iraqi artists have had to bear going through several wars. From 1986 to 1991, I worked as a map painter in the Army’s rear lines. But the problem is that every Iraqi has direct experience of these wars, not just the soldiers.”

In addition to the ever-present realities of the war, Nazar says that his paintings reflect his environment, which he finds dominated by the colors of sand, dust, tar, and oxidation. “It is rare to find bright colors in our environment,” he says, “because it is full of dust and sand storms, and everything seems rusted.”

Thus, one can often find in Nazar’s oil paintings a mixture of sand, construction materials, and other found objects. His powerful abstract shapes have been inspired by irregular-shaped pieces of metal, and some patterns are inspired by those impressed by tire treads in the hot tar of the roads. “I often feel as if my works should take on the identity of large iron sculptures.”

Nazar’s works have been exhibited in the Middle East in Beirut, Bahrain, Amman, Dubai, and Qatar. They have also been exhibited in London, Norway, and Bangladesh.   During the outbreak of the war in 2003, Nazar took his family to the safety of Amman, Jordan, where they reside today.