Mehdi Moutashar was born in 1943, in the city of Hilla in central Iraq, close to the ancient city of Babylon. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, Iraq in 1966 and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France in 1970. He is a former professor at the Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1974-2008.
Read MoreMoutashar has exhibited internationally with recent and forthcoming solo exhibitions including: Mehdi Moutashar: Introspection as Resistance, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar (forthcoming - 26 October 2023 - 5 March 2024); Frieze Masters, Spotlight section with Lawrie Shabibi, London, United Kingdom; TRAME at Abbaye de Cluny, France (2022); Mehdi Moutashar: Cardinal Points, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2021); Abu Dhabi Art Fair with Lawrie Shabibi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2021); Racines carrées, AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2021); Abbaye de Cluny, France (2021); Hoffmann Gallery, Friedberg, Germany (2019); Measuring Space, National Theatre & Albareh Gallery, Bahrain (2017); Victor Sfez Gallery, Paris (2016); AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2016); Le Petit Temple Gallery, Lasalle, France (2014); Linde Hollinger Gallery, Ladenburg, Germany (2013); AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2012); Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany (2011), amongst others.
In 2018 he won the prestigious Jameel Prize 5 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) London, sharing the accolade with architect Marina Tabassum. Moutashar received the award for his bold work of minimalist abstraction rooted in Islamic geometry - exhibited as part of the finalists' group show at the V&A (2018), followed by a second iteration at Jameel Art Center, Dubai (2019).
His work has been exhibited as part of numerous group shows including, most recently: As by chance!, Museum of Art and History of Cholet, France (2023); Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto Of Fragility, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar (2023); Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility, 16th Lyon Biennale, macLYON, Lyon, France (2022); Art Dubai with Lawrie Shabibi (2022); Small is beautiful!, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2021); Structure du Silence, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2021); Espace Oblique, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2018); Bagdad Mon Amour, Institut des Cultures d'Islam, Paris (2018); among others.
His work is held in collections worldwide, including: Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE; Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; Fonds Régional D'art Contemporain Provence Alpes, Côte d'Azur; Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany; Montbéliard Museum, France; Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône, France; Klingspor Museum der Stadt, Offenbach, Germany; Fine Arts Museum, Cholet, France; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; National Gallery of Fine Arts, Ammann, Jordan; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Modern Art Museum, Tunis; and, National Modern Art Museum, Baghdad, Iraq.
A comprehensive monograph of the artist's work has been published by Méridianes Editions and Bernard Chauveau Editions in France. This book is available in both French and English, covers 280 pages and explores the artist's practice in depth.
Moutashar lives and works in Arles, France.
Text courtesy Lawrie Shabibi.
