salem AL dabbagh

 b. 1941, Mosul, Iraq.

Salem al-Dabbah is an Iraqi artist, specializing in painting and installations, working in abstract styles incorporating Iraqi traditions. Growing up in Iraq, al-Dabbagh observed locals in traditional craftwork, which helped him fuel his interest in culture, tradition and the arts. Watching women using goat hair to weave proved to be inspiration to his work in his later years. 

In 1965, al-Dabbagh graduated from Baghdad’s Institute of Fine Arts. A scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation enabled him to study graphic arts in Lisbon, Portugal from 1967 to 1968. Under the guidance of Roman Artymowski, a Polish artist known for using geometric forms, al-Dabbah started experimenting in abstraction in his work. 

An active member of the Iraqi arts community, he, along with other renowned Iraqi contemporary artists (Salman Abbas, Amer al-Obaidi, Sale al-Jumaie, Faeq Hassan, Nida Kadhim and Talib Makki), co-founded the ‘Innovationists’ Group – an artists’ group that shaped the identity of modern art in Iraq. The group comprised of young Iraqi artists encouraged to experiment with different media, within the themes of Iraqi heritage and issues. 

Al-Dabbah taught at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad as an art and design professor and then as the Head of the Graphic Design Department, from 1971 to 2000. Later, he also worked as a consultant to fashion houses in Iraq.