Halim Al Karim (1963, Najaf v. Iraq) deals with ongoing issues, particularly those related to violence, created by the corrupt political agenda of community leaders. The artist defines photography as the perfect space for self-expression, as it preserves the foundations of visual reality and can be manipulated to show altered states of mind. The photographs, which are out of focus in composition, sometimes rendered more mysterious under a silk veil, embody the past, present and future simultaneously, while embodying the ambiguity of the text, time and place. These techniques, which have the distinctive features of the artist's works, are the means of overcoming the troubles he experiences. The "Hidden" series combines the earliest photographic theme of Halim Al Karim and the Sufi concept of al-batin, one of the 999 names of Allah, meaning "truth". In "The King's Harem", he reflects Orientalist visuality and brings a contemporary interpretation to well-known themes in art history. Commenting on how power can be coercive and oppressive with these, the artist draws attention to the universality of the problems instead of seeing the theme as an East-West conflict. In works that depict universal human emotions with different colors including shades of gray, the repetitive composition of the eyes in the focal point and the masked mouths reflect the form of self-protection and resistance, a mentality adopted by Iraqis in contemporary times.
Trainings
1988 BA Ceramics, Baghdad Academy of Fine Arts
2000 Gerrit Reitveld Academy, Amsterdam, Holland
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Halim Al Karim: Witness from Baghdad, Artspace, London / England
2012 Hidden” Merkur, Istanbul
2012 Halim Al Karim, Galerie Imane Fares, Paris, France
2012 Hidden Goddess, Nuova Galleria Morone, Milan, Italy
2012 Schizophrenia, AB Gallery, Luzern, Switzerland
2012 Art Paris Art Fair, Galerie Imane Fares, Paris, France
2011 XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2011 NYU Abu Dhabi, UAE
2010 Witness From Baghdad, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan
2009 XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2008 Darat Al Funin, Kuwait
2008 XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2007 Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, USA
2006 XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2005 Robischon Gallery,Denver, Colorado, USA
2005 Gremillion Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
2005 Espace SD, Beirut, Lebanon
2005 XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2004 Saifi Village-Quartier des Arts, Beirut, Lebanon
2003 Four Walls Gallery, Amman, Jordan
2001 Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics, Leeuwarden, Holland
2000 Fibeitt Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1996 L'Entretemps Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
1995 50x70 Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon1994 Schauer Gallery, Paris, France
1993 French Cultural Center, Amman, Jordan
1992 Baladna Gallery, Amman, Jordan
Group Exhibitions
2012 Arab Express: The Latest Art From The Arab World, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
2012 Artspace London Opening Exhibition
2012 Contemporary Istanbul, Merkur Gallery, Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center, Istanbul
2012 Inside, Merkur Gallery, Istanbul
2012 Artspace, London
2011 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, Turkey
2011 Iraq Pavilion 54th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2011 Saatchi Gallery, London
2011 See the Light, Louis Vuitton Hong Kong Gallery, Hong Kong
2011 Al Ghaib (The Disappearance), Contemporary Art Space, Maraya Al Qasba, Sharjah, UAE
2011 The State: Uppers and Downers, Farook Collection, Traffic Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2010 Nujoom: Constellations of Arab Art from the Farjam Collection, Dubai, UAE
2010 Peripheral Vision, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
2010 Stux Gallery, New York, USA
2010 Red Line Gallery, curated by Robishon Gallery, Colorado, USA
2010 Milan Art Fair, Milan, Italy
2010 Aspen Art, Colorado, USA
2010 Behind the Mask, The New Art Gallery, Walsall, England
2010 IF Galleria, Paris
2009 Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2009 Bastakiya Art Fair, Dubai
2009 Paul Klee Museum, Bern, Switzerland
2009 Crossings Traversees, Rabat, Morocco
2009 Hong Kong International Art Fair, Hong Kong
2009 Arti Campi Gallery, Verona, Italy
2009 Art Abu Dhabi, UAE
2008 Art Paris, Paris, France
2008 Art Paris, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2008 Asian Contemporary Art Fair, New York, USA
2008 Radical Gallery, Zug, Switzerland
2006 Pinceaux pour Plumes", Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon
2006 Arteclasica 2006 - 3ª Feria de Arte Clásico Contemporane,El Centro Costa Salguero, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2004 Ceramic Delft, Delft, The Netherlands
2003 Tegels, Corrosia Cultural Center, Almere Haven, The Netherlands
2001 Contemporary Ceramics in Lebanon, AUB, Beirut, Lebanon
1999 Ceramic Millenium, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1999 Pictura, Dordrecht, Netherlands
1998 Art Deco LA FIAD, Beirut, Lebanon
1998 Global Ceramics 1, Landsmeer, The Netherlands
1998 Fleuris-98, Ede, The Netherlands
1998 Agial Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
1997 Musee des Metiers de Mercure, Larochelle, France
1996 Parterre Gallery, Sommelsdijk, The Netherlands
1996 Babel Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1995 Salon des Art Decoratif – SAD, Beirut, Lebanon
1994 Salon d'Automne, Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon
1993 International Art Festival, Amman, Jordan
