Rafa Nasiri

Rafa Nasiri’s art derives from his direct exposure to the mysterious and infinite horizons of his homeland—Iraq. Rafa’s passion for and competency in printmaking grew out during his training years at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (1959-1963), where he developed a vision based on the Chinese approach of man being a part of nature’s creative process. As a painter and printmaker Nasiri has challenged the format, techniques and expressive potentials of the medium in both artistic fields. His prints represent a separate body parallel and complementary to his paintings. The artist has explored the world of visual arts in numerous variations and art form. Yet for more than five decades, he has remained unflinchingly committed to printmaking where he gained early acclaim as the “Pioneer of Iraqi Graphic Arts.” During Fifty Years of Printmaking, Rafa Nasiri found himself shifting – from the remotest corner East to the farthest point West; from total engulfment in reflecting the surrounding images as seen in reality, in its natural, rural and urban facets, to absolute abstraction; and from imitation and physical impressibility to the discovery of the soul.