KARIM KHALIL

Born on March 13, 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq, Khalil is a 1987 graduate of Baghdad’s Academy of Fine Arts. 

Khalil’s work reflects his personal struggle to both document and come to terms with two devastating lived events: the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war (where as a draftee he served on the frontlines in Iraq’s southern marshes), and the 2003 United States-led Iraq invasion and subsequent military occupation. 

Referred to by some critics as “Iraq’s Rodin,” Khalil’s artistic journey began with sculpture. His most famous work is his interpretation of the photograph seen around the world of a hooded prisoner in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. Acrylics then caught Khalil’s attention, using them initially to enhance his clay sculptures. However, he soon started creating narrative paintings that address and criticize the massive political, societal, and cultural changes wrought by Iraq’s post-occupation regime.

Khalil continues to reside in Baghdad.

Group Exhibitions

Marassi Art Program Kareem Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2021)

Annual Iraqi Plastic Artists Society Exhibitions Baghdad, Iraq (2016-2019)

Iraqi Artists in Exile Station Museum, Houston, Texas, USA (2008-2009)

Signals in the Dark University of Toronto, Canada (2008)

Street Art Exhibit Baghdad, Iraq (2004)

Sculpture Symposium Beirut, Lebanon (2001)

Color, Clay, Stone Hiwar Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq (2000)

Contemporary Iraqi Art Exhibition Rome, Italy (1993)

First International Youth Year Art Exhibition Baghdad, Iraq (1985)

Al-Wasiti Festival Baghdad, Iraq (1984)

April Exhibition X National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq (1983)

Jerash Sculpture Festival Jerash, Jordan

Solo Exhibitions

Excruciating on Clay Madarat Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq (2007)

Aley Club Aley, Lebanon (2001)

Sufferings Over Marble Baghdad Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq (1996)

Hiwar Gallery Exhibition Baghdad, Iraq (1996)