HALIM AL-KARIM
Born in Iraq in 1963, Halim Al Karim received an undergraduate degree in Ceramics from the Baghdad Academy of Fine Arts in 1988, and later attended the Gerrit Reitveld Academy in Amsterdam. Having exhibited abroad since 1992, his work has been featured in such international events as the Venice Biennale, Art Abu Dhabi and the Bastakiya Art Fair.
Halim Al-Karim underwent a harrowing experience during the first Gulf War. Opposing Saddam’s regime and its compulsory military service he took to hiding in the desert, living for almost 3 years in a hole in the ground covered by a pile of rocks. He survived only through the assistance of a Bedouin woman who brought him food and water and taught him about gypsy customs and mysticism. Al-Karim has since emigrated to America, however, these events have had a profound effect on his life and form the basis for his art practice.
In recent years Al Karim has been given solo exhibitions in such venues as XVA Gallery (Dubai), Darat Al Funun (Amman), and the Boulde.
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