An artist fascinated by the archaeology of his native Iraq, Dia Azzawi’s early works geometricized and collated traditional symbols of ancient Iraqi culture. Later examples, however, such as the present piece, demonstrate a shift in Azzawi’s artistic agenda, and in Oriental Landscape and other such works, we see a total abstraction of Iraqi cultural motifs set within an aesthetic which not only recalls traditional tribal decorative adornments but also derives heavy influence from European Abstract Expressionist movements, and in particular from the geometric compositions of Serge Poliakoff. Colourful, stunning and symbolic, Azzawi’s gestural paintings grapple with traditional cultural themes in a distinctly modern visual language.
2007 Acrylic on canvas. 139.7 x 180 cm. (55 x 70 7/8 in). Signed and dated 'Azzawi 07' lower right; signed, titled and dated 'Azzawi 2007 Excavation's Landscape' on the reverse.