France - Interior Paintings

Maysaloun Faraj is an Iraqi/American born (1955) London based painter and sculptor.  Growing up between the USA (1950s-60s), Baghdad (1970s) and London (from 1982) with intermittent bouts in Paris, collectively contributed to shaping Faraj’s creative output and artistic accomplishment. Graduated with a BSc in Architecture, University of Baghdad (1978) and went on to study sculptural ceramics at Putney School of Art and Design and was resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2015/17/18). Displaced by decades of war, deeply rooted in Iraq, Faraj’s work contemplates the intersection of place and identity and explores the dynamics between overarching societal concerns and the highly personal.  Her visual vocabulary is colour and basic geometric forms; an ideal realm for harmony and order.  Amid an aesthetic informed by architectural discipline is a complex web of references bridging East and West, ancient and contemporary, often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence. Her career spans four decades with work in various mediums, creating subtle interplay between two and three-dimensional forms. Furthermore, Faraj has been an integral figure in the rise of the modern Middle East Art scene; curatorial work includes the first international showcase of Iraqi art (tour UK/USA 2000-3) exploring  the work of pioneering Iraqi artists and subsequent generation. She is editor of the seminal publication  Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi art...