Faraj Abbo (Al Numan) was born in 1921 in Mosul, Iraq. Abbo’s artistic talents were revealed at an early age, expressed in theatre design, directing, literature, and fine arts. In fact, he was...


FARAJ ABBO, Iraq (1921 - 1984)
Bio
Written by WAFA ROZ
Faraj Abbo (Al Numan) was born in 1921 in Mosul, Iraq. Abbo’s artistic talents were revealed at an early age, expressed in theatre design, directing, literature, and fine arts.
In fact, he was commissioned to execute artwork for local churches in Mosul at the age of thirteen; examples of this painting can be seen today at the Mar Eshai Church.
Abbo’s career as an artist grew through education in both the East and the West, which would later be reflected in his signature style. In 1950, he acquired a bachelor’s degree at the College of Fine Arts in Cairo, later relocating to Rome, where he completed his postgraduate studies with honors at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1954. Abbo, who worked as a teacher at high schools such as Al Hilah and Baquba until 1945, was active in many different arts groups in Iraq throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In 1941, he joined the Friends of Art, and in 1944 the Art Friends Society; he would go on to join the Baghdad Contemporary Art Group in 1954 and co-found the Iraqi Artists Committee in 1956.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the artist was highly influenced by contemporary painters in the USSR. Through his experiences in Russia – to which the artist traveled on a motorbike – he was exposed to the state-sponsored arts program in the nascent Soviet Union. He found himself drawn to the socialist realism practiced by Russian painters, manifesting this inspiration in paintings that valorize the popular culture and daily social life of Iraq. The artist’s style witnessed a remarkable shift in the early 1970s when he began to take an interest in more abstract stylistic choices in compositions evocative of painters such as Mondrian and Kandinsky. His work did not merely draw inspiration from these Western masters; however; instead, it helped to give form to a kind of pan-Arab artistic practice known as Hurufiyya. Less of a defined movement than a series of shared aesthetic principles, Hurufiyya refers to the use of Arabic calligraphy in modern art, frequently in conjunction with – or as part of – abstract compositions. Along with his contemporaries in the Baghdad Art Group, Abbo advocated for modern art that looked toward the future and embraced internationalism while maintaining and reflecting upon ties to Iraqi cultural heritage.
In addition to his active participation in the art circles of Baghdad, Faraj Abbo was a significant contributor to arts education in Iraq: he taught drawing at the Institute of Fine Arts as well as at the Architectural Department of the College of Engineering in Baghdad. Furthermore, he played a major role in establishing the curriculum for the Academy of Fine Arts at Baghdad University, where he was appointed the head of the plastic art department as well as Deputy Dean for many terms.
Faraj Abbo passed away in 1984, leaving behind a substantial collection of artworks and a history of participation in more than 60 exhibitions.
Sources
Zayni, Ali. :: Faraj Abbo ::. Accessed July 27, 2017. http://farajabbo.com/about.htm.
Isqineeha. "FEATURE: Iraqi Artist FARAJ ABBO." أسقنيها. September 25, 2013. Accessed August 24, 2017. http://isqineeha.tumblr.com/post/62206099710/feature-iraqi-artist-faraj-abbo.
Habash, Najat. "فنان من بلادي." فرج عبّو النعمان. 2003. Accessed August 08, 2017. http://bakhdida.ca/BassimHannaPetros/farajabbo.htm.
CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2009
Retrospective Exhibition works of Faraj Abbo Al Numan , Wakif Art Center, Doha, Qatar
1983
An Honoring event patronized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication (Department of Contemporary Art), Baghdad Gallery for Contemporary Art, Baghdad, Iraq
1971
Fifth Solo Exhibition – Faraj Abbo, Gulbenkian Hall, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Baghdad, Iraq
1965
Baghdad, Iraq
1963
Baghdad, Iraq
1950
Cairo, Egypt
1941
Mosul, Iraq
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017
Features of Self-Esteem: Portraits and Landscape Paintings, Jordanian National Museum of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
2013
Modern Iraqi Art: A Collection , Meem Gallery, Dubai
2010
Exhibition of pioneers of Iraqi Art 2010, Qatar Fine Arts Society, Doha, Qatar
2003
Bissan Gallery, Doha, Qatar
2002
Aya Gallery, London, UK
1957
معرض بغداد للرسم و النحت,نادي المنصور,Baghdad
1950
Ibn Sena joint Exhibition , Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, Iraq
-He participated in Baghdad first Biennale
-His artworks exist in Baghdad University, Iraqi Ministries, Baghdad Airport & Museums.
Publications
By the artist:
Kāmil ʻĀdil, and ʻAbbū Faraj. Faraj ʻAbbū. Baghdād: al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻIrāqīyah, Wizārat al-Thaqāfah wa-al-Iʻlām, Dāʼirat al-Funūn al-Tashkīlīyah, 1982.
ʻAbū Faraj. ʻIlm ʻanāṣir Al-Fann. Mīlānū: Dār Dalfīn, 1982.
Public collections
Baghdad University, Iraq
Iraqi ministries, Iraq
Baghdad Airport, Iraq
Barjeel Art Foundation, U.A.E.
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Lebanon
Ibrahimi collection, Amman
Documents
Cultural Continuity in Modern Iraqi Painting between 1950- 1980
Shakiba Sharifian/Mehdi Mohammadzade/Silvia Naef/ Mostafa Mehraeen
Bagh-e Nazar, English, 2016
Vol.14/No.47/May 2017
Wings and roots ; an adventure in art, literature and life
Shawkat Al-Rubaie
AuthorHouse UK Ltd., English, 2014
Excerpt p.28, 124, 136
The grass roots of Iraqi Art
Jabra I. Jabra
artiraq.org, English, 1986
p.45
المشاهد واللقطات المصورة بالأسود والأبيض في سياق الفيلم الملون ، مجلة القادسية في الآداب والعلوم التربوية
فراس عبد الجليل الشاروط
iasj.net, Arabic, 2009
p.271
جمالية عناصرالشكل في أعمال الفنان فرج عبو
حنين إحسان حسن كريدي
qu.edu.iq, Arabic, 2017
سحر التصوير
عبد الباسط سلمان
books.google.com.lb, Arabic, 2004
p.95-96
(علم عناصر الفن (الجزء الأول
Abbo Faraj
Artist website, Arabic, 1982
Dolphin Publishers, Milano - Italy
(علم عناصر الفن (الجزء الثاني
Abbo Faraj
Artist website, Arabic, 1982
Dolphin Publishers, Milano - Italy
Fifth Solo Exhibition – Faraj Abbo, Gulbenkian Hall
Artist Website
Arabic, 1971
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Baghdad, Iraq
An Honoring event patronized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication (Department of Contemporary Art)
Artist Website, Arabic, 1983
Baghdad Gallery for Contemporary Art, Baghdad, Iraq
Press
الجوانب الإنسانية في أعمال الفنان فرج عبو
علي فوزي
الشرق, Arabic, 2004
From (artist website)
العثورعلى لوحة مفقودة للفنان فرج عبو من أصل 7 ألاف سرقت عام 2003
Iraq Press Agency العراق وكالة ال, Arabic, 2018
وزارة الثقافة تستعيد لوحة نادرة للفنان العراقي فرج عبو
https://www.ninanews.com/website, Arabic, 2014
كاظم شمهود: فرج عبو من اقطاب الفن العراقي المعاصر
د. كاظم شمهود
http://www.almothaqaf.com, Arabic, 2016
المفتش العام لوزارة الثقافة يتسلم لوحة تشكيلية مفقودة للفنان الرائد فرج عبو
Ministry of Culture of Iraq, Arabic, 2014
ذكرى وفاة الفنان فرج عبو النعمان.. ابنته شذى كلمتنا
فتيان اكرم الفتيان
الفنون الجميلة, Arabic, 2018
FEATURE: IRAQI ARTIST FARAJ ABBO
isqineeha
English, 2013
isqineeha.tumblr.com
مواطن يسلم وزارة الثقافة العراقية لوحة مفقودة للفنان الرائد فرج عبو
http://artsgulf.com, Arabic, 2014
نقوش تتواءم مع الذات
فنون إسلامية
http://imamhussain.org, Arabic, 2016
هذا هو هو الفنان فرج عبو
مريم نجمه
http://almadasupplements.com, Arabic, 2015
مشهد منوع بلوحات كبار التشكيليين العرب و القطريين
Arrayah, Arabic, 2003
Artist Website
بانوراما تشكيلية متميزة تجمع الرولد مع المدارس الحداثية و ما بعدها
اكرم اليوسف
الشرق, Arabic, 2003
Artist Website
In the glorious world of Iraqi artist
Ailyn Agonia
Qatar Tribune, English, 2009
Artist Website
عائلة الفنان العراقي الاحل فرج عبو تعرض أعماله في مركز واقف للفنون
Arabic, 2009
Artist Website
معرض استعادي للراحل فرج عبو أحد أعلام جماعة بغداد للفن الحديث
محمد هديب
الوطن, Arabic, 2009
From Artist Website
Modern Iraqi Art / A Collection
Meem Gallery, English, 2013
13 May - 27 June 2013
الأميرة لع ميري تفتتح معرض لرواد الفن التشكيلي العربي
عمان – سيدتي. نت, Arabic, 2017
FARAJ ABBO Artwork
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