Written by Nathalie Bsat Sadik Kwaish AlFraj was born in 1960 in Baghdad. He obtained a BFA in Painting and Plastic Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts Baghdad in 1987 where he studied under Shaker...
SADIK KWAISH ALFRAJI, Iraq (1960)
Bio
Written by Nathalie Bsat
Sadik Kwaish AlFraj was born in 1960 in Baghdad. He obtained a BFA in Painting and Plastic Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts Baghdad in 1987 where he studied under Shaker Hassan and where he absorbed the mission of the Iraqi pioneers to join modernism with heritage. He then obtained a High Diploma in Graphic Design from CHK Constantijin Huygens, the Netherlands in 2000.
Alfraji is a multimedia artist whose early works consisted of paintings, etchings, and woodcuts to later evolve into ink and charcoal on paper drawings with prints, animations, art books, and installations. This polyvalence in his medium was his way to display a storyteller skill.
In the last year of his studies in Baghdad, Al Fraji undertook an internship at the educational TV channel in the animation department, where he was asked to train in illustration. His exposure to animation tools led him to his first experimentation with moving graphics. Ever since, the artist has been fascinated by animation, stop-motion specifically. He combined this talent with his interest in literature and specifically existential philosophy. In fact, the text is an essential component of his work; in his animations, Alfraji explores the relationship between text and image, often laying them side by side.
Al Faraji’s works are very monochromatic. His protagonist is often a black, charcoal figure.
The artist’s first encounter with an art form in all black was in his childhood during a holiday called Ashoura, a universal day of mourning for Shi’a Muslims. His mother would dip his and his sibling’s clothes in black dye and hang them up to dry, the black drippings staining the ground.
The recurrent black figure in Sadik’s works is always in profile view and one-eyed, much like the characters in ancient Sumerian, Greek, and Assyrian art. This black figure was shaped mostly by patients at a psychiatric hospital the artist visited quite often, inspired by the rawness of emotions and the reality of life in that institution. To the artist, they represent all of humanity. A figure in profile view is looking ahead, to the unknown, to the endlessness of time versus a front facing figure which captures only one, fleeting moment. His character seems to be contemplating and thinking, burdened by its existence, often bent over as if carrying that burden. It is sometimes painted large, filling up the entirety of the paper and at other times, shrunken and multiplied, disappearing into a crowd of the same features. The figure in a way is representative of the artist himself, a giant as if he feels the need to confirm his presence as opposed to the minuscule version of the figure that shows his exact size against the magnitude of the universe.
Since the late 70s, with the ongoing wars and political struggle in Iraq the liveliness of Baghdad that Alfraji knew in his youth has disappeared, the city became unrecognizable to him. The artist describes exile as a constant feeling of loss that puts a gap between your present reality and your memory. Much of Iraq’s heritage was lost. The destruction of historical and artistic heritage greatly affected the artist, as an Iraqi, but also from a humanitarian perspective. Alfraji developed an interest in the reproduction of mythology and different aspects of Iraqi literature and history in the prospect of reincarnating this culture into his new works and new media. He drew his style greatly from German expressionism all the while finding a middle ground between European modernism and ancient art and heritage of his own land. He also incorporated elements of his own personal history and philosophy, shaped by the extensive readings throughout his life. He is particularly drawn to authors like Kafka and Samuel Beckett.
Al Fraji was named Artist of the Year at the Esquire Middle East Awards in 2012. A monograph on the artist was published by Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam in 2015. He currently lives and works in Amersfoort, Netherlands.
Sources
MarayaArtCentre. YouTube. April 03, 2017. Accessed October 18, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO40ptcv0P4.
Alfraji, Sadik Kwaish. Once Upon A Time: Hadiqat Al Umma. Sharjah: Maraya Art Centre, 2017.
Art Radar. Accessed October 18, 2017. http://artradarjournal.com/2017/04/05/iraqi-artist-sadik-kwaish-alfrajis-once-upon-a-time-hadiqat-al-umma-at-maraya-art-centre-sharjah/.
Butler, Andy. "Sadik Alfraji Interview." Designboom | Architecture & Design Magazine. March 20, 2013. Accessed January 10, 2019. https://www.designboom.com/art/sadik-alfraji-interview/.
""A Tapestry Woven in My Soul": Sadik Kwaish Alfraji on Childhood Recollections That Shaped Him as an Artist." Ruya Foundation For Contemporary Culture In Iraq. January 13, 2016. Accessed January 10, 2019. https://ruyafoundation.org/en/2016/01/3059/.
This is a short biography. The full version , along with research, CV and sources will be posted soon. Stay tuned and visit us often or become a member to be notified of our updates.
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CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji: Charcoal, Ink and a Donkey, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
2023
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji: Those Houses Behind the Army Canal, Ayyam Gallery Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2019
We Scream, But Nothing Changes, Naves Matadero–International Living Arts Centre, Madrid, Spain
The River That Was in the South, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2018
Dark is the Tone of My History, Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain
2017
Once Upon a Time, Hadiqat Al Umma, Maraya Art Center, Sharjah, UAE
Seasons of Lost Baghdad, Maraya Art Center, Ayyam Gallery booth, Art Dubai 2017, UAE
War Scraps At Lemvig Museum, Bunkermuseum, part of Meetings Symposium, Rom, Denmark
2016
Ali’s Boat, Red Star Line Museum, Antwerp, Belgium
A Dream Within A Dream, Tanit Gallery, Munich, Germany
2015
Driven By Storms (The Notebooks), Ayyam Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
Driven By Storms (Ali’s Boat), Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
Ali’s Boat, Ayyam Gallery, London, UK
2014
Biography of a Head, Beirut Exhibition Center, Beirut, Lebanon
2013
Godot to Come Yesterday, Ayyam Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
I Do Not Feel That I Am Free, Ayyam Gallery, London, UK
2011
Waiting for Godot, Ayyam Gallery, Damascus, Syria
Nothing, Nobody, Ayyam Gallery, DIFC, Dubai, UAE
2010
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Freedom, Stadsgalerij, Amersfoort, Netherlands
For the Love of Zainab, Art Singel 100, Amsterdam, Netherlands
A Cup of Coffee with Kafka, ‘t Hoogt, Utrecht, Netherlands
2008
Born April 9th, Station Museum, Houston, Texas, US
Dear Rilke we are all Travellers, Gallery Majke Husstege, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Art Singel 100, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2007
Born April 9th, Stedelijk Museum's-Hertogenbosch, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Keeping Clear of Socrates, Seasons Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
2006
Collect-Art Gallery, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Human Miniatures, Gallery Witteveen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2005
Papers of a Rational Being, 4 Walls Gallery, Amman, Jordan
2004
Memories of a Golden City: Baghdad, Aya Gallery, London, UK
2000
In Between Project, Cultural Centre Ter Dilft, Bornem, Belgium
1999
Gallery Felix, Kampen, Netherlands
1994
French Cultural Center, Amman, Jordan
1993
Talisman, Baladna Gallery, Amman, Jordan
1992
Baladna Gallery, Amman, Jordan
1989
Miniatures Wood Cut, Al-Rawaq Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Drawing Biennial 2024, Drawing Room London, London, UK
2023
An Ode to Portraiture, Ayyam Gallery Dubai, Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Landscape Of Memory: Seven Installations From The Barjeel Art Foundation, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College Art, Massachusetts, USA
2022
Paper Trail: 50 Years Collective Exhibition, Galerie Tanit, Munich Munich, Germany
2021
Natasja Kensmil & Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project, Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2020
Imagined Communities, 21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_ Videobrasil, São Paulo, Brazil
In the Presence of Absence, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Theater of Operations, The Gulf War 1991-2011, MoMA PS1, New York, US
Contemporary Art, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, CCPLM, Centro Cultural La Moneda, Santiago, Chile
Eyes East Bound, 13th Cairo International Biennale, chosen by artistic director Ehab EL-Labban, Cairo, Egypt
9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9), Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia
2018
The Arrangements of the Soul in the Universe, Langgeng Art Foundation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Salon-18 Amersfoort–Utrecht: contemporary art, Rietveld Museum, Amersfoort, Netherlands
you + topia, Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World, American
University Museum, Washington DC, US
Abu Dhabi Art, Ayyam Gallery Booth, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2017
Between two rounds of fire, the exile of the sea, Katzen Art Center, American University Museum, Washington DC, US
Our Night is Long, Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
I am the Hunter/I am the Prey, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Moving Stories: Three Journeys, The British Museum, London, UK
Time, Site & Lore, Lemvig Museum, Denmark
Archaic, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2016
Imperfect Chronology: Mapping the Contemporary II, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2015
Who said tomorrow doesn’t exist?, TRIO Biennial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Autonomy of Self: Rejecting violence with the lens in former Ottoman territories, P21 Gallery, London, UK
From the figurative to the abstract – modern art from the Arab World, British Museum, London, UK
View From Inside: Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Mixed Media Art, Abu Dhabi Festival, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Aide-mémoire, Maraya Art Centre – Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, LACMA, Los Angeles, California, US
2014
The Future Yesterday, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado, US
Fluid Forms II, Samsung Blue Square, Seoul, South Korea; Busan Museum of Art, Busan, South Korea
View from Inside, 15th FotoFest Biennale, Houston, Texas, US
Contemporary Uprising: Art from the Middle East, Nest Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
2013
R-Evolution, Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
25 Years of Arab Creativity, Abu Dhabi Festival in partnership with Institut du Monde Arabe, The Gallery at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE
UNITEXT, 9th Kaunas Biennial, M. K. Ciurlionis National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania
2012
25 Years of Arab Creativity, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
The Samawi Collection II, Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE
2011
International Festival of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Algiers,Algeria
2010
Told / Untold / Retold, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
2008
12 Tekenaars, Gallery Witteveen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Old Friends & New Faces, Seasons Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
Arttransit Gallery, Amersfoort, Netherlands
New Salon: Identity has a Face with No Features, CBKU & Central Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
2007
8th International Biennial of Engraving, Premio Acqui, Acqui Terme, Italy
2006
Intervisie IV, Seasons Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands International Book-Art Project, Artetica, Roma, Italy
Rabbit and House, 4th International Artist's Book Triennial, ARKA Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania
Vers van de Pers, Utrecht Graphic Atelier, Utrecht, Netherlands
2005
Power in Print, Southern Graphics Council International, Washington D.C., US
Daftar: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art, University of North Texas Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, US
4th International Biennial of Contemporary Graphic Arts, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia
5th International Mini - Print Biennial Cluj, Cluj-Napoca Art Museum, Cluj- Napoca, Romania
4th LESSEDRA World Art Print Annual - Mini Print, Lessedra Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Re-Interpreting the Middle East: Beyond The Historical Stereotype, Sisson Gallery - MacKenzie Fine Arts Center - Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan, US
Meent Art Gallery, Hilversum, Netherlands Galerie Covalenco, Geldrop, Netherlands
Best of Inkt, Inkt Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
2004
The Iowa Biennial of Contemporary Miniature Prints, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, US
1st International Collage Exhibition, Kaire Desine Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania 26th International Hollfeld Art Exhibition, Hollfeld Museum, Hollfeld Germany
3rd LESSEDRA World Art Print Annual - Mini Print, Lessedra Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Op Format, Inkt Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
2003
Expressions of Hope, Aya Gallery, London, UK
2002
1001 Reasons to Love the Earth, Foundation 2000, Seoul, South Korea
2001
Inkt Graphic Calendar, Inkt Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
The Outside of the Inside, Manege St. Petersburg Art Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia
2000
Op Format, Inkt Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
Strokes of Genius, The Brunei Gallery, London, UK
In Between Project, Cultural Centre Ter Dilft, Bornem, Belgium Participation, Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki, Finland
1999
Utrecht Graphic Atelier, Utrecht, Netherlands Graphic Atelier, Kampen, Netherlands
Op Format, Inkt Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
1998
Gallery Felix, Kampen, Netherlands
1997
International Exhibition for Modern Art, Granada, Spain
Utrecht Graphic Atelier, Utrecht, Netherlands
1996
Musée Les Metiers De Mercure, Rochefort, France
1993
Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan
1988
Baghdad International Festival of Arts, Art Center, Baghdad, Iraq
1987
Al Wasiti Festival, Art Center, Baghdad, Iraq
17th International Biennial Graphic Art, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
8th Norwegian International Print Biennial, Fredrikstad,Norway
1985
The National and International Graphic Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey
Contemporary Iraqi Graphic Art, Al Orfali Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq
5th Seoul International Miniature Prints Biennial, Seoul, South Korea
Awards and Honors
2017
The 13th Cairo Biennale prize, Cairo, Egypt
2015
Grant, Driven By Storms (Ali’s Boat), Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014
The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Bellagio Italy
2012
Artist of the Year at the Esquire Middle East Awards. Dubai, UAE
Collections
The British Museum, London, UK
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, US
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, US
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, U.A.E
Cluj-Napoca Art Museum, Romania
Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Russia
Khaled Shoman Foundation Amman, Jordan
French Cultural Center, Amman, Jordan
National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
The Art Center, Baghdad, Iraq
The National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq
Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirdk, Russia
The Samawi Collection, Dubai, UAE
Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas, US
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Press
The House That My Father Built
LYL
Asymptotejournal.com, English
عن قماش منسوج في روحي: صادق كويش الفراجي يستعيد ذكريات الطفولة التي شكلت وجدانه كفنان
ruyafoundation.org, Arabic, 2016
“A Tapestry Woven in My Soul”: Sadik Kwaish Alfraji on childhood recollections that shaped him as an artist.
ruyafoundation.org, English, 2016
Being Sadik: Home, Existence, and Figures in the Shadows
Fawz Kabra
barjeelartfoundation.org, English, 2015
اعمال الفنان الفراجي في «4 جدران»: اسئلة الوجود بفلسفة جمالية
alrai.com, Arabic, 2005
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
ALI MACGILP
contemporaryartsociety.org, English, 2017
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at the Venice Biennale
Ambika Rajgopal
ASIAN Art, English, 2017
Venice Conversations: Sadik Kwaish Alfraji and the dialectic of the hunter and prey
ruyafoundation.org, English, 2017
SADIK KWAISH ALFRAJI Artwork
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