Ghassan Ghaib

Ghassan Ghaib (born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1964) is an Iraqi-American artist.

Early life Ghassan Ghaib was born in Baghdad in 1964. He obtained degrees from the Institute of Fine Arts in 1986 and the Academy of Fine Arts in 1997. Ghassan began crafting sculptures with clay in his family's garden, and later transitioned to creating small paintings through his drawings.

Ghaib is part of a generation that experienced wars in Iraq, ranging from the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s to the Persian Gulf war in the 1990s, culminating in the US invasion in 2003. Due to the wars, he had to leave Iraq and seek refuge in Amman, Jordan, where he set up his studio. Consequently, themes of displacement, loss, and memory took center stage in his portfolio.

Later he moved to Los Angeles.

Work

Ghaib's work is held in a number of permanent collections including the British Museum; Jordanian National Museum; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar; and Art Center for Fine Arts, Baghdad. In his work titled Homage to al-Mutanabbi Street 1 (2007). Ghassan Ghaib presents a book-object that embodies both destruction and preservation. The book is bound with barbed wire, giving the impression of containing explosive content beyond our imagination. Despite appearing contained, there's an undeniable sense of immense pressure held within its pages.

Solo exhibitions 2001 Orfali Gallery, Amman 2005 Alwasham, Dar Alanda Art Gallery, Amman 2010 Banned from paradise. Karim Gallhery, Amman 2019 Butterfly Wing. Orfali Gallery, Amman.

Selected group exhibitions 1986 The First International Iraqi Art Festival, Baghdad 1988 The Second International Iraqi Art Festival, Baghdad 1991 Contemporary Iraqi Art Exhibition, Amman 1992 Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Baghdad 1992 Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Baladna Gallery, Amman 1995 A Group Exhibition, Hiwar Gallery, Baghdad 1996 A Group Exhibition, Ab'ad Gallery, Amman 1997 Environment and Surroundings in Iraqi Art Exhibition, Jordanian National Museum, Amman 1998 A Group Exhibition, Hiwar Gallery, Baghdad 1999 Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Agyal Gallery, Beirut 2000 A Group Exhibition, Athar Gallery, Baghdad 2000 Iraqi Art Exhibition, Arab World Institute, Paris 2001 Six Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Dar Al Bareh, Bahrain 2002 Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh 2002 Joint Exhibition with Samer Usama, Four Walls Gallery, Amman 2003 "Before.After.Now" Exhibition, Deluxe Gallery, London 2003 Contemporary artists from Iraq, Green-art Gallery, Dubai 2004 Artists Books Exhibition, Ten Iraqi Artists, Frankfort Exhibition International 2004 Omage to Shakir Hssan Al Said Exhibition, Al Orfaly art gallery 2005 Homage to Shakir Hassan Al Said & Ismail Fattah Exhibition, Athar art gallery, Baghdad 2005 Iraqi Art, East West Foundation, Holland 2005 Three Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Athar Art Gallery, Baghdad 2005 Seven Iraqi Artists Exhibition, Besan Gallery, Qatar - Alrwaq Gallery, Bahrain - 4 Walls Gallery, Amman 2006 Word Into Art Artists of Modern Middle East/ British Museum/London 2006 Mondial De Líestampe Et De La Gravure Originale / France 2006 3rd International Collage Exhibition Vilnius / Lithuania 2007 "Positive Negative", Joint Exhibition with Nazar Yahia. Dar Al Bareh, Bahrain 2009 Beyond Boundaries Interpretation Of 9 Artists, Karim Gallery, Amman 2010 My Home Land Seven Iraqi Artists Exhibition 2010 Art in Iraq today. Part II. Meem Gallery. Dubai 2011 Art in Iraq today. Conclusion. Meem Gallery. Dubai and Beirut 2012 Nostalgia. Ghassan Ghaib with Ahmed AL Bahrani. JACARANDA IMAGES. Amman 2013 GDCA art gallery - Los Angeles CA 2016 Fabric expo art fair - Los Angeles CA 2001 Orfali Gallery, Amman 2017 LACDA art gallery - Los Angeles CA 2019 Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts - Object of Imagination. Contemporary Arab Ceramics. 2019 Theater of Operations, The Gulf War 1991-2011. MoMA PS1's Exhibition. NEW YORK. 2022 Exhibition Amakin - Jeddah 2022 Exhibition Amakin - Al Dammam.

Awards 1987 The 6th Al Wasiti Award 1996 3rd Award, Contemporary Iraqi Art Festival, Baghdad 2000 Creativity Award, Baghdad