Iraqi writer and painter Mahmoud Sabri was born in Baghdad in 1927. In 1940, he pursued his diploma in social sciences from Loughborough University in England and After working at Rafidain Bank, Sabri decided to become a full-time painter. His first exhibition took place in 1947 in the Iraqi embassy in London.  In 1963, he studied the art of mural paintings at the Surikov Institute for Art in Moscow, under the mentorship of Aleksandr Deynekamove. In the same year, the artist moved to Prague where he started working on his art collection, expressing the dynamic relationship between art and science. While in Prague, he published a manifesto of Quantum Realism.

Sabri’s interests in Realism are influenced by his years in his native city Baghdad, lying between tradition and modernity. The artist is remarkably interested in practicing art using black and white palette to create solid, unmodulated shapes and forms, that reflect on many social, political and cross-cultural conflicts. Mahmoud’s interests in communism and social inequality patterns play a remarkable role in shaping his artistic style. From his early personal experience in Iraq to the injustice regime of Latin America and other political regimes, the artist’s rebellious spirit spotlights the suffering of people, following to the loss of the land. He considers this common conflict a universal issue driven by violence.