Rafa al-Nasiri (1940 Baghdad - 2013 Amman), Untitled, 1971, Acrylic on plywood, 100 x 100.5 cm

Rafa Nasiri was an Iraqi artist who was born in Tikrit, Iraq, in 1940 and died on December 7, 2013. He was a painter, printmaker, lecturer, and graphic designer. Al-Nasiri was a key figure in the 1970s pan-Arab modern art movement. He received Diploma in Painting, Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad (1956-1959) in paint, B.A. in Printmaking, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (1959-1963), Diploma in Printmaking, The Gravura, Lisbon (1969) and International Summer Academy, Salzburg, Austria (1974-75). He is well-known for his combinations that draw inspiration from modern abstract art, particularly Abstract Expressionism, and for his use of Arabic calligraphy. The above two artworks are examples of the combination of abstract and Arabic calligraphy. The artist painted uses off-white as a background to emphasize the sand in the desert as well as he uses colors such as red, orange, light orange and green, these colors usually refer to the colors of the sun and the dessert Nasiri probably uses these colors to refer back to his homeland Iraq. For the calligraphy Nasiri uses black color to make the focus on the Arabic calligraphy.