⊕ ‡ ARDASH KAKAFIAN (IRAQI 1941-1999)

⊕ ‡ ARDASH KAKAFIAN (IRAQI 1941-1999) SENSE OF BELONGING acrylic on canvas, in two parts 184 x 306cm; 72 3/8 x 120 1/2in (framed) Painted circa 1990 Property of a Private Collector, The Netherlands Provenance Collection of the artist Thence by descent to the present owner Born in Mosul, Kakafian was the youngest member to be accepted into the Baghdad Modern Art Group and went on to exhibit extensively in both Baghdad and Paris, having studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. His work spanned many genres including expressionism, Chinese inkwork, miniature paintings and political propaganda for which he spent time in prison. Much of his work is influenced by his personal experiences as well as impressionism and al Wasiti miniatures and he is described by Ahmed Morsi as an 'explorer of a self-diaspora' and 'an eloquent mesh of personal architecture and poetry' (Exh. Cat., Washington D.C., Alif Gallery, Ardash, 1986). This work portrays a sense of pain and sadism which is further heightened by the scale of the canvas.