Maysaloun Faraj is a London-based painter, sculptor and ceramist. Born in Los Angeles California, USA (1955) to Iraqi parents, she moved to Baghdad in 1968, graduated with a BSc in Architecture (Baghdad University 1978) and departed to live in London with her husband, the architect Ali Mousawi (1982). Soon after, she relocated to Paris with her young family, and in two years returned to London where she was able to further her art education. In later years (2015/17/18) Faraj revisited Paris as a resident of the Al-Mansouria Foundation at the Cité International des Arts.
Her visual vocabulary is colour and basic geometric form; an ideal realm for order and harmony. Amid an aesthetic informed by architectural discipline, is a web of references, bridging East and West, ancient and contemporary, the public and the highly personal, often pondering on ‘spirituality’ and the transience of human existence.
“In a fusion of east and west, tradition and modernity, my art resonates and evolves. The story I want to share is my challenge as an artist, a woman, a Muslim and an American-born Iraqi, living outside the motherland.”
Her work is in notable public collections including the British Museum, Rotterdam Wereld Museum, National Museum for Women in the Arts (USA), Jordan National Museum (Amman), Barjeel Art Foundation (UAE), Al-Mansouria Foundation (Paris), Aga Khan Foundation (Canada) and distinguished private collections including Hussain Ali Harba (Turin Italy), Ibrahimi and Ali Husri (Jordan), the late Basil al-Rahim (London) and important others. Maysaloun Faraj lives and works in London.
Represented by Mark Hachem Gallery | Paris | Beirut | New York @markhachemgallery