art by
Diyar
Phoenix Art Museum article
Diyar Al Asadi
Phoenix Az-USA
Diyar Al Asadi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, where he lived for the first decade of his life before death threats forced him and his family to flee from their homeland to Egypt. Then in 2009, yet another attempt on their lives drove them to find safe haven once again, this time, in Jordan.
All the while, however, Diyar used art as a means to dream, hope, and escape. Over the years, he studied and collaborated with many artists and teachers, including Russian artist Eleni Alexander, Saudi artist Elham Jean, Iranian professor Fatima Pour Hatami, and the calligrapher to King Abdullah of Jordan.
In 2012, Diyar moved to the United States after receiving a scholarship to the prominent Art Students League of New York, and today, he calls Phoenix his home, his community, where he paints highly intricate, large-scale works that can take up to 2,300 hours to create.
I use many techniques in my art, but my main influence is Islamic art because it's where I found my first inspiration. I like to combine techniques of traditional Islamic art to show where I'm from with newer techniques from contemporary art to show where I am now.
Also, as my family traveled as refugees from Iraq to Egypt, and then on to Jordan, my mom saw it as a great opportunity for me to improve my art and study other techniques from various traditions, under many great artists and professors. If you look closely at my paintings, you will find I employ all of the styles I’ve learned, with the purpose of telling a traveler’s story.
Growing up in Iraq, my Muslim family took me to these beautiful, magical “Mazar” temples or mosques that usually contained the dead body of someone holy, and I’ve always wondered about how the perfection of geometry and the bold blue color with white and gold decoration of the art and designs in those places made them somehow even holier. In my paintings, which I consider “contemporary Islamic art,” I always want to capture a holy image and then give it to someone that feels the same way about it as I do.
What are the media that you prefer to work in?
Al Asadi: When I work using traditional Islamic art techniques, I prefer acrylic on canvas or gouache on cardboard. I spend weeks working on the details of artworks, and it's easier to use water-based paint because it dries faster. I also see water-based colors and a cloth of canvas as the most spiritual materials because they are basic and easy to find and use, characteristics I found especially important as I painted growing up when my family struggled a lot financially
Al Asadi: I have been doing art as a full-time job for 5 years, I do a lot of commissions orders that make me create daily stories and routines. I'm currently showing a painting for the Carmody Foundation at Sisao Gallery and the show was on Nov.6 2020, and working on multiple international orders for the rest of this year of 2020. As I won a competition to do art in one of Chinese Tech cities next year. As for now all my paintings/sketches are sold to private collections from around the world, to people who have a taste for the 2 styles of contemporary and islamic art, and the other paintings were ordered personally but i'm working on showing to the public by Soon
Exhibiton :
No War 2003(Iraq) , Dot Of Ink 2005(Egypt), Stories 2006(Egypt), Dot Of Ink2 2006(Egypt), townhouse gallery art shows 2007-2009(Egypt), Iraq on paper 2009(Iraq), decoration art 2010(Jordan), The Yearly Islamic Art Show For The Decoration 2011-2012(Algeria),The Center For Victims Of Torture 2011-2012(Jordan) White Bird 2012(Marco), living Gallery 2013(Brooklyn), Seeds of the League Program- EMOA Space Gallery 2013(Manhattan), Timber Of Iraq 2013(Boston), Khaled Gallery 2015(California),
Box House 2017(seattle),
Magazines:
Iraqi magazine online 2007, The Flower Of The Golf( zahrat al-khalej magazine ) 2008, BBC London online 2008, Iraqi magazine online 2009, Arabs Today 2010, International Women Day Jordan by(UNHCR) 2012.
I also had a school project with a calligrapher to King Abdullah of Jordan and received a bronze model for participation.
I was also featured in the documentary Between Earth and Sky " as the small boy Saud" 2008 by the filmmaker Kalyanee Mum;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcsEWWpq_OM
Diyar was also featured on an Anti-Violence PSA by Borderline Pictures;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dxcGm3CgU
Since coming to the United States, I have moved all over the country, starting from Boston, to New York, San Francisco, Seattle and now Phoenix AZ. My artwork has been shown throughout those cities and traveled to galleries and collectors throughout the Middle East and the World.