Red Sky with Birds by Dia Azzawi

Made in response to the massacre of Palestinian refugees in Beirut by Christian Lebanese Phalangists, the killings took place over several days in refugee camps kept under guard by the Israeli Defence Force. Al-Azzawi explains how working from imagination, he delineated the scenes of chaos and horror in a semi-abstract style to create a work that is not a propaganda piece, but which documents a tragedy.

From the collection of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
Details
Title: Red Sky with Birds
Date Created: 1981
painter: Dia Azzawi
Physical Dimensions: w2002 x h1200 mm
Alternate Title: سماء حمراء وطيور
Type: paintings
Medium: oil on canvas


Dia Azzawi

Dia Azzawi (born 1939) is an Iraqi visual artist often regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art. He lives in London and Doha. Dia al-Azzawi, an Iraqi-born painter, is an outstanding and world-class artist, art consultant, and author. Al-Azzawi’s work includes sculptures, prints, and drawings, as well as books through which visual art interacts with prose and poetry.

Poetry and folkloric memory drawn from ancient and contemporary Iraqi and Arab histories resonate in the artwork of internationally renowned Dia Al Azzawi. Azzawi’s acute understanding of antiquity and cultural heritage is evident in paintings, sculptures and prints that capture historical moments, often on a monumental scale. The artist’s awareness and sensitivity to representations of human suffering and turmoil carry through his work, as does his attempt to interlace space and time to demonstrate the eternal solidarity between different cultures and civilisations.

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Dia Al-Azawwi is regarded as one of Iraq’s most influential Modern artists, creating works that merge contemporary techniques with references to ancient traditions. A former archaeology student, Al-Azawwi grew up captivated by the artefacts of the Iraq Museum, which continued to hold an influence when he studied at Iraq’s Institute of Fine Art.

In 1969, Al-Azawwi became a founding member of Iraq’s New Vision Group, its members united not by style, but by a desire to change an art scene they felt had grown rigid. Having moved to the UK in, Al-Azzawi found that by viewing Iraq from afar, he could understand more about Iraqi and Arabic culture than if he had remained.

Throughout the Middle East and the Western world, the works of al-Azzawi are highly valued for their uniqueness and cultural value. He became globally recognized as an artist and painter with participation in more than sixty-four exhibitions, which promoted Islamic and Arab art.

Al-Azzawi influenced the emergence of other Iraqi artists such as Maysaloun Faraj. He has also received several awards for his outstanding works.
https://hisour.com/art-medium/paintings/red-sky-birds-dia-azzawi/