Lot Essay
Kadhim Haydar is considered one of the most influential artists of the modern Iraqi movement. Born in Baghdad in 1932, Haydar studied literature at the Higher Institute of Teachers and simultaneously received a degree from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He graduated from both institutes in 1957 and later went on to study theatre design, lithography and painting at the College of Art in London. Upon returning to Baghdad, Haydar started teaching at the Institute of Fine Arts.
From a very early stage Haydar’s unique perspective and understanding of life had shown through his drawings and paintings. He would later combine his multiple interests and studies to intimately depict the worlds and struggles of contemporary humans. Haydar’s genius lies in his unique outlook on life which he masterfully portrays using tools from his multidisciplinary background while continuously evolving his style and technique.
Haydar’s body of work from the 1950s to the 1980s exemplifies the boldness of his themes and techniques, and his continuously changing style. It also highlights his commitment to the everyday struggles of the man. During the 1950s, Haydar’s work was more figurative, focusing on the urban labourer as a hero. He then became well known for the Epic of the Martyr series which he produced and exhibited in Baghdad in the 1960s. This series of around thirty-two paintings draws on the public mourning rituals of Baghdad that commemorate the death of Imam Hussein. Through his metaphorical compositions, Haydar narrates the story of an unknown martyr. His works following this series become increasingly abstract without straying away from the theme of human struggles. His final works which Haydar produces during the 1980s focus on the struggles of his own body and illness. The same illness he later passes away from.
This work from the Dalloul collection, is a remarkable example of Haydar’s oeuvre that marks his style following the Epic of the Martyr series. Haydar sets the scene by painting a dark interior cube using green and blue. He then forms an abstract composition in the centre that is alive and dynamic. Within the organic boundaries of the central composition, this indistinctive body starts pulling away from the walls of the interior cube, fighting to open up the space to bring in light and colour. Haydar’s brilliance here lies in formation of the central abstract composition which while it does not refer back to any species, cannot be thought of as being inanimate either. Through the opening that the body forms, Haydar provides us with a glimpse of what life looks like beyond walls. He is thus referring to ideas of freedom and human struggles through an abstract composition of a fight between a body and its surroundings.
From a very early stage Haydar’s unique perspective and understanding of life had shown through his drawings and paintings. He would later combine his multiple interests and studies to intimately depict the worlds and struggles of contemporary humans. Haydar’s genius lies in his unique outlook on life which he masterfully portrays using tools from his multidisciplinary background while continuously evolving his style and technique.
Haydar’s body of work from the 1950s to the 1980s exemplifies the boldness of his themes and techniques, and his continuously changing style. It also highlights his commitment to the everyday struggles of the man. During the 1950s, Haydar’s work was more figurative, focusing on the urban labourer as a hero. He then became well known for the Epic of the Martyr series which he produced and exhibited in Baghdad in the 1960s. This series of around thirty-two paintings draws on the public mourning rituals of Baghdad that commemorate the death of Imam Hussein. Through his metaphorical compositions, Haydar narrates the story of an unknown martyr. His works following this series become increasingly abstract without straying away from the theme of human struggles. His final works which Haydar produces during the 1980s focus on the struggles of his own body and illness. The same illness he later passes away from.
This work from the Dalloul collection, is a remarkable example of Haydar’s oeuvre that marks his style following the Epic of the Martyr series. Haydar sets the scene by painting a dark interior cube using green and blue. He then forms an abstract composition in the centre that is alive and dynamic. Within the organic boundaries of the central composition, this indistinctive body starts pulling away from the walls of the interior cube, fighting to open up the space to bring in light and colour. Haydar’s brilliance here lies in formation of the central abstract composition which while it does not refer back to any species, cannot be thought of as being inanimate either. Through the opening that the body forms, Haydar provides us with a glimpse of what life looks like beyond walls. He is thus referring to ideas of freedom and human struggles through an abstract composition of a fight between a body and its surroundings.