Ibrahimi Collection

Khader Jirjis (1938-2006), Untitled, Oil on Board, 1999 The artwork portrays a landscape not as a defined location but as a fluid emotional terrain that bridges earth and memory. Thick, textured layers of paint accumulate like evolving topographies, with ridges, slopes, and imprints shaped by time. The color palette transitions between earthy reds, muted pinks, and grey-greens, creating a subtle dialogue between warmth and coolness. Occasional flashes of light break through the surface, suggesting lingering hope or remnants of life within this expansive silence. Rather than presenting a clear scene, the artist invites interpretation, transforming nature into a state of feeling. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Shakir Hassan Al-Said (1925-2004), Decorative Contemplation, Wax Crayon, Spray Paint, and Reverse Collage on Carton, 1967 The red background erupts like a living field, intense and charged, while a free, white line, reminiscent of an Arabic letter, cuts across the surface. It is not meant to be read, but to be felt. This piece aligns with Al-Said’s “One Dimension” philosophy, where the letter is no longer a linguistic sign but a vehicle for spiritual reflection. Black gestural marks and textured surfaces, combined with reverse collage techniques, create the sense that the image is not merely painted, but excavated from within the material itself. Here, color becomes an experiential field, line becomes an existential trace, and the canvas transforms into a space of silence and meditation where meaning dissolves into presence. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Rafa Nasiri (1940-2013), Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 1985 Color fields intersect with symbols. The background shifts from a glowing red to deep darkness, evoking a moment of sunset, a transition between presence and absence, light and shadow. At the center of the piece, embossed, calligraphic-like forms emerge from the textured surface, subtly alluding to Arabic letters without explicitly defining them. This reflects Nasiri’s deep engagement with Hurufiyya, where letters serve as both visual and spiritual forces. These marks feel like traces of a distant civilization, imprints of memory embedded in time. Through restrained color and rich texture, the artwork becomes contemplative, an artifact suspended between earth and sky, writing and erasure, presence and disappearance. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Lorna Selim (1928-2021), Two Portraits, Oil on Panel, Ca. 1990 Bold colors, red, yellow, and black, create a warm yet striking contrast that not only depicts two individuals but also suggests the layered identities of womanhood: both personal and collective, real and imagined. This painting celebrates the feminine as both a presence and a symbol, where facial features convey meaning, ornamentation evokes memories, and color vibrates with life. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Dia al-Azzawi @diaazzawi (b. 1939), Old Map of the Arabian Peninsula No. 2, Acrylic on Canvas, 2007 Reimagining geography as a layered field of memory and symbolism, rather than a fixed territory. The map transforms into abstract forms, where borders become fluid lines, and color blocks reconstruct an imagined Arab landscape. In this context, the map serves not as a tool for navigation but as a space for reflection on identity, history, and the changing realities of the region. Al-Azzawi reinterprets geography as an emotional and cultural construct, suggesting that place transcends borders and resides within memory itself. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Zaid Mohamed Saleh Zaki (1922-1986), Al-Maqha (The Café), Oil on Board, 1955 The scene depicts a quiet, everyday moment from Baghdadi’s life, filled with subtle emotional depth. Three figures are present in a calm interior: a reclining man, another seated across from him, and a standing man holding a teapot. This ordinary scene is infused with a meaningful silence. The artwork features a simplified, reductive style characterized by clear outlines and flattened color fields, which create a sense of contemplative stillness. The figures are posed in a relaxed, attentive, and engaged manner, suggesting different psychological states within a shared space. Small details, such as the red shoes placed on the floor, add an intimate human touch, hinting at themes of presence, absence, and lived experience. The café becomes more than just a setting; it is a social space for unspoken dialogue, everyday relationships, and quiet pauses between conversations. A fleeting moment transforms into a suspended one, where silence itself becomes a form of expression. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Najib Younis (1930-2007), Yazidi Folk Dance, Oil on Canvas, 1990 This vibrant work celebrates communal spirit and ritual joy through a depiction of a Yazidi folk dance unfolding outdoors. Figures gather in dynamic circular formations, where movement and rhythm intertwine, led by the drummer whose beat anchors the scene in a shared sensory experience. The painting evokes the atmosphere of Serê Sal (the Yazidi New Year), when communities gather in orchards and fields dressed in traditional attire to celebrate renewal and life. Bright colors, reds, whites, greens, and yellows, convey festivity and vitality, while energetic brushstrokes animate the dancers with a sense of audible rhythm and motion. A striking feature of the work is the artist’s handling of light, particularly the brilliance of the sun expressed through luminous whites that energize the figures. The circular composition suggests not only dance, but unity and continuity, turning celebration into a collective act that binds people to their land and traditions. A painting of joy where movement becomes memory, and color becomes celebration. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Widad Al-Orfali (b. 1929), Tragedy of Palestine, Oil on Board, 1967 This work distills collective grief into an intimate, human expression. Two women occupy the composition, their faces simplified yet deeply expressive, marked by tension, detachment, and quiet sorrow. Rendered in an expressive style, the exaggerated facial lines and reduced detail foreground emotion over narrative. The muted palette of earthy tones, yellows, and greys reflects a suspended, unsettled moment in time. Their averted gazes suggest disconnection between self and reality, between hope and despair. Created during a pivotal historical moment, the painting stands as a testimony to shared Arab anguish. It was exhibited in the artist’s third solo exhibition at the Jordan Hotel in Amman in 1968, and later in London, carrying its message beyond regional boundaries. A painting that does not shout, but lingers, quietly, with unbearable weight. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Fouad Jihad (1948-2004), Soil, Sword and Emerald, Mixed Media on Canvas, 1970 The artist draws heavily from medieval icon painting traditions, reinterpreting them through a contemporary, symbol-laden perspective. The composition resembles a page from an illuminated manuscript, where ornamentation, earth tones, and gold merge into a dense and enigmatic visual language. The painting is divided into two realms by a thin, spear-like axis, topped by the piercing eyes of a veiled woman. This suggests vision, witness, and perhaps silent testimony to a tragic event. Across the surface, fragmented scenes unfold: fleeing horses, emerald tents, ritual gatherings, and haloed figures that evoke a sense of sanctity. In stark contrast, we see the fallen body of a warrior and a discarded sword, which echo a deeply rooted historical memory. He embraces the precision and decorative richness of icon painting but liberates it from its strict religious function, turning it into a space for reflection. Instead of telling a clear story, he scatters meaning through symbols such as the horse, the sword, the tent, and the halo. These symbols hint at the tensions between spirituality and materiality, loss and sanctity, as well as history and its reinterpretation. This work is less a narrative and more a visual riddle, an invitation to contemplate what lies beyond the image, and the stories that resist being fully told. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artwork

Eid Mubarak! ✨ May this blessed occasion return with goodness and stability. May your worships be accepted. Painting: Hafidh Al-Droubi (1914-1991), Al-Mahalla Market, Oil on Canvas, 1983

Faraj Abbo (1921-1984), Sunset Dialogue, Oil on Canvas, 1971 The artist presents a spiritual abstract vision where colors move in a cosmic rhythm. Overlapping orbits evoke a mystical Mevlevi dance at sunset, symbolizing gratitude and reflection. The sun serves as an existential center, with shapes revolving like galaxies and atoms. Warm tones of yellow, ochre, and earth brown create a contemplative dialogue between humanity and the universe, bridging the visible and the hidden. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artist

Ismail Al-Chekhli (1924-2002), Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 1994 Al-Chekhli vividly depicts a crowded scene, capturing a group of figures under a bright sun in an open landscape. Their individual features blend into a single mass, symbolizing ordinary people in shared rituals of waiting and survival. In the foreground, a solitary female figure stands out, representing memory and identity. Warm tones of yellow, orange, and red dominate the composition, adding vitality despite the simplified shapes. Al-Chekhli’s expressive style emphasizes the collective over the individual. The painting reflects on the Iraqi human condition, highlighting communal presence and connection to land and light, offering a simple yet profound scene. . . . #art #fineart #modernart #contemporaryart #artist