Born in 1964, in Baghdad, Ghassan Ghaib is an Iraqi visual artist based in Amman. In 1986, he earned a Diploma from the Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad, and in 1997 he completed his BA in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts, Baghdad. During his childhood years, Ghassan created sculptures with clay in his family's house garden and then moved into drawing little paintings.

Ghaib belongs to a generation that has witnessed significant wars in Iraq, spanning from the 1980 Iran-Iraq war to the 1990 Persian Gulf war, all through the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. As a result, Ghaib fled Iraq during the American assault and moved to Amman, Jordan, where he established his studio. Thus, displacement, loss, and memory became central themes in his extensive body of work. The artist reaches for solid materials that evoke a sense of place and belonging. Onto his colorful abstract paintings, executed with acrylic paint and mixed media, Ghaib introduces ready-made objects such as glass bars, barbed wire, fabric, rope, – objects which people come into contact with in everyday life in an attempt to bridge the gap the tangible and the emotional – a play in space between the exterior and the interior. His work indeed evokes one's imagination and insight.

In his latest works, Ghaib investigates nature and memory through symbolic depictions of butterflies. In his wordings, Ghaib expresses that his work is "the outcome of an experience abstracted from the heart of nature, an experience that is more akin to a bird's instinct in its constant search for safety and security. "Besides his celebrated collaged paintings and symbolic three-dimensional objects, Ghaib produced several painted ceramic plates,  and inspiring Artist's books. Also, he staged several public installations depicting the critical environmental state of planet earth. 

Ghassan Ghaib still lives and works in Amman, Jordan.

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