Afifa Aleiby (b. 1952) is an Iraqi artist who was born in the city of Basra, in the utmost southern part of Iraq. She took up her studies at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad while working as an illustrator for the Iraqi press, before leaving Iraq for the Soviet Union in 1974 to study and specialize in monumental art at the renowned Surikov Institute in Moscow. Due to the political situation in Iraq, she was unable to return to her native country after the completion of her studies and decided to move to Italy and later back to Moscow, before settling in Yemen to work as a teacher at the Institute of Fine Arts in Aden, where she also illustrated children’s books and magazines. Aleiby has since been living and working in the Netherlands and continues to contribute to a great deal of cultural activities in support of the Iraqi and international democratic movement, in the struggle against terrorism, racism, war and dictatorship. Having not returned to her native country for 35 years, she has built a strong connection to every country she has lived in since leaving Iraq, both in a cultural and personal sense. Her connection to humanity and different cultures has led to solidarity transcending geographical and cultural borders becoming an important theme in her work. Bringing together different influences from Renaissance painting to religious icons and social realism, she uses the female figure as a recurring motif to reflect beauty, taste, politics and society.
Solo exhibitions include Waiting for the Moon, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Palm Beach, USA (2024); Timeless Echoes, Zawyeh Gallery, Dubai, UAE (2023); Rivers Converging, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2022); Landmarks of Estrangement, Picasso Gallery, Cairo, Egypt (2021); Art Dubai, by Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin and London, UAE (2021); The Echo of Time, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2020); Afifa Aleiby, Pulchri Studio, The Hage, Netherlands (2019); Re-Existence, Pulchri Studio, Den Haag, Netherlands (2018); Boushahri Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait (2017); Boushahri Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait (2014); De Twee Pauwen, The Hague, Netherlands (2014); Boushahri Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait (2010); Gallery Prima Vista, Maastricht, Netherlands (2008); Galleria Tornabuoni, Florence, Italy (2008); Zink Exposities, Bergen, Netherlands (2008); Transit Art, Amersfoort, Netherlands (2008); Arabic Cultural Centre, Brussels, Belgium (1999).
Group exhibitions include (Upcoming) All About Eve, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2025); Parallel Histories: Works from the collection of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah Art Museum, UAE (2024); I'm Migrant, Bermondsey Project Space, London, UK (2023); Eye of the Collector Art Fair, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2023); Art Dubai with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Dubai, UAE (2023), Singapore Biennale, Singapore (2022-23); Art Dubai, UAE (2022); 'Untitled Miami Beach', with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Miami, USA (2022); When Images Speak: Highlights from the Dubai Collection, Etihad Museum, UAE (2021); Facing the Sun, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Görne, Germany (2021); Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991–2011 at MOMA PS1, NY, USA (2019-2020); Beirut Biennale, Beirut, Lebanon (2000); Fortezza S. Francesco. Omaggio a Dilvio Lotti, San Miniato, Italy (1997); Het Veen, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1997); Sale Topical, omaggio Gino Severini, Montespertoli, Italy (1995); Centro culturale Studio Palazzo, Festival dei due mondi, Spoleto, Italy (1993); Folklore Museum, Damascus, Syria (1986); Arabic Culture Centre, Damasco, Syria (1982).
Highlights and collections
Afifa Aleiby's work was shown at the 2022 Singapore Biennale. From 2019 to 2020 Afifa's work was shown in the MoMA PS1 Show, "Theater of Operation; The Gulf Wars 1991-2011". Furthermore, her work can be found in prominent public and private collections such as the Newark Museum of Art, USA; Azman Museum, Malaysia; Farjam Foundation, UAE; Rana Sadik Collection, Kuwait; The Bunker Artspace Museum, USA; Barjeel Foundation, UAE and Collection of Disaphol Chansiri, Thailand. In addition, she has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout her career, from Baghdad and Moscow to Yemen, Italy, Syria, Lebanon, England and the United States as a representative of the artistic and cultural face of the Iraqi civilization.