Untitled, 2008, is an acrylic on canvas painting by Iraqi artist Himat Mohammad Ali; it depicts cascading speckles of blue and gray paint applied in several layers, which seem to accumulate at the bottom of the longitudinal painting. Light gray paint covers that entire vertical canvas, on top of which the artist dripped a darker tone of gray, as well as bright blue splatters with very tiny patches of red and green paint. The painting’s top surface shows dense metallic gray dots through which the pops of bright blue come out. The apparent gradation within the metallic gray layer results from the underlying dark blue splashes and blots of tinted gray. The paint layers, gaps in between, and cool colors create a mesmerizing effect, further emphasized by the jarring flecks of red and contrasting green.
Situating Untitled, 2008, to other similarly themed works by Mohammad Ali reveals the tragic story of the source of inspiration for this piece. In 1995, during Mohammad Ali’s time in Japan, he and his friend, the Japanese writer Gotaro Tunezumi, decided to collaborate on a joint exhibition that brought together Tunezumi’s poems and Mohammad Ali’s paintings[1]. The series of poems were about four different flowers, and the collection was entitled 'Flowers in the Sky.' Unfortunately, throughout this time, Tunezumi had fallen severely ill, and the painter had come to understand these poems as something akin to a final will by his friend. By the time the show was ready in 2002, Tunezumi was too weak to leave the hospital bed. During their last meeting, Tunezumi gave Mohammad Ali his final edit of the ‘Flowers in the Sky’ poems, which then became the inspiration for a series of paintings by Mohammad Ali exhibited in Japan in the spring of 2008.
This painting reflects Mohammad Ali’s approach to art as a process guided primarily through intuition and emotion that gradually builds into a unique style or vision[2]. For instance, while his work is predominantly abstract in style, Mohammad Ali sees his use of color, especially when inoculating warm hues like various reds, as a reflection of his belonging to Iraq and to colors that permeate the Iraqi culture and environment[3]. He also sees the abstraction in his work as the result of being an immigrant living away from his land, as well as the outcome of the intersection of exchanges with other artistic mediums, especially poetry[4]. Throughout his artistic career, he often collaborated with renowned poets, such as Syrian poet Adonis and French poet André Velter, by creating artist’s books for their poetry collections.[5].Untitled, 2008 undoubtedly reflects Mohammad Ali's oeuvre and continued artistic trajectory.
Sources:
signed and dated 2008 front lower right in English and signed front lower left in Arabic
