Saleh Al-Jumai'e
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Saleh al-Jumai'e (b. 1939 Saweira, Iraq) is an Iraqi artist noted for his works that explore the notion of tracks left by ancient heritage. His works often integrate Arabic calligraphy in an abstract artwork.


Life and career

Saleh al-Jumai'e was born in 1939 in Saweira, Iraq. He was among the first generation of students to graduate from the new Academy of Fine Arts in 1962. He and his cohort were taught by the first generation of contemporary Iraqi artists including
Hafidh al-Droubi Hafidh al-Droubi (1914-1991) was an Iraqi painter and draughtsman, noted for his Cubist paintings and for his approach to professionalizing Iraqi art education in the early to mid 20th-century. He was a prolific painter, an important artist in ...
and
Jawad Saleem Jawad Saleem (, 1919–1961) was an Iraq, Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Ankara, Ottoman Empire in 1919. He became an influential artist through his involvement with the Iraqi Baghdad Modern Art Group, which encouraged artists to explore tech ...
, who promoted the idea of integrating ancient heritage within abstract artworks. Before long, the younger artists, including Al-Jumaie rebelled against traditional art styles and wanted to explore the use of new materials and media such as collage, aluminum and mono-type. In 1965, shortly after graduating, al-Jumai'e co-founded the artists' group known as the 'Innovationists'. This group, which was short-lived, lasting just four years, consisted of a younger artists including: Salim al-Dabbagh, Faik Husein and Ali Talib, who along with Al-Jumaie began using new media in highly experimental ways. In 1965, he was nominated for a Ministry of Education scholarship which allowed him to study at the Californian College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Following his return to Baghdad, he co-founded another artists' group. The ''Al-Ru’yah al-Jadida'' New Vision Group' Founded in 1968, by al-Jumai'e along with artists Ismail Fatah Al Turk; Muhammed Muhr al-Din, Hashimi al-Samarchi, Rafa al-Nadiri and Dia Azzawi, the group represented a free art style where many artists believed that they needed to be true to their own era, and encouraged the idea of freedom of creativity within a framework of heritage. In 1979, he left Iraq for political reasons, and in 1981 he and his family settled in Almeda, California where he worked as a freelance graphic artist.


Work

Al-Jumaie and his cohort including Amer al-Obaidi, Salman Abbas and Nida Kadhim became the group of artists that defined 1960s Iraqi art. Although al-Jumaie is best remembered as a painter, he also designed posters and produced a number of book covers. His early work features Arabic lettering, but over time the calligraphy became fainter. His interest in exploring new media and materials was maintained throughout his career. The art critic,
Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (28 August 1919 – 12 December 1994) () was an Iraqi-Palestinian author, artist and intellectual born in Adana in French-occupied Cilicia to a Syriac Orthodox Christian family. His family survived the Seyfo Genocide and f ...
wrote of the artist's capacity to combine ancient and modern as well as abstract and figurative styles: The idea of tracks left by tradition is a theme that Jumaie takes up in much of his work. For example, ''Pages from Old Books'' is a series of mixed media artworks that creates an illusion of surfaces on which fragments of script have been written. The notion of traces is particularly evident in one of his best-known works, ''Bullet Trace'' (1967); a powerful work that deals with the shock of the six day war. Examples of his work can be found in the National Gallery of Jordan permanent collection;Wiǧdān ʻAlī, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, al- Matḥaf al-Waṭanī al-Urdunnī lil-Funūn al-Ǧamīla (ʻAmmān), 2005, p. 225 and p. 286 the Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad; The Municipality of Olsq; The Arab Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi and The International Labor Organization, Geneva. Select list of artworks * ''Bullet Trace,'' 1967 oil on gesso on canvas 129.5 x 90.2 cm (51 x 35½in) * ''Old Walls'' c. 1977 series, mixed media on canvas


See also

*
Iraqi art Iraqi art is one of the richest art heritages in world and refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical region of what is present day Iraq since ancient Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian periods. For centuries, the capital, Baghd ...
*
List of Iraqi artists The following is a list of important artists, including visual arts, poets and musicians, who were born in Iraq, active in Iraq or whose body of work is primarily concerned with Iraqi themes or subject matter. Note: This article uses Arabic nami ...


External links


Saleh al-Jumaie at Art Iraq
- digital resource maintained by Iraqi artists and including reproductions of numerous artworks that were lost or damaged during the 2003 invasion, and which are not accessible in any other reliable public resource


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jumai'e, Saleh al 20th-century Iraqi painters Iraqi abstract painters Iraqi calligraphers Artists from Baghdad Iraqi contemporary artists 1939 births Living people