issam el said

 b. 1938, Baghdad, Iraq.

d. 1988, London, England (aged 50). 

Issam el-Said was a celebrated and versatile artist, delving into painting, print-making, etching, architecture, philosophy and writing. His dedication to the expression of spiritual and cultural Islamic identity is evident in his work. Geometric elements – particularly like in Islamic art – played a big role in the concepts of his designs. 

In 1961, el-Said received his BA in Architecture from Corpus Christi College of Cambridge University. He furthered his education, studying Art at the Hammersmith College of Art in London (1962-1964). Due to his sad and untimely death, his PhD on the ‘Methodology of Geometric Proportioning in Islamic Architecture’ at the University of Newcastle could not be finished. Key extracts from his work was published posthumously by the Issam el-Said Foundation in 1993. 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Woodstock Gallery – London, United Kingdom, 1962, 1963.

Banouch Gallery – Bahrain, 1962, 1963.

Galerie Dagmar Wirth – Berlin, Germany, 1963.

Galerie Dagmar Wirth (with Nuha al-Radi) – Berlin, Germany, 1964.

Litchfield Gallery – New York, New York, USA, 1964.

Sultan Gallery (with Munira al-Kazi) – Kuwait, 1969.

Victoria and Albert Museum – London, United Kingdom, 1977.

Christie’s Contemporary Art – London, United Kingdom, 1977.

‘Third World Biennial of Contemporary Art’, Iraqi Cultural Centre – London, United Kingdom, 1980.

‘Influence of Calligraphy on Contemporary Arab Art’, Iraqi Cultural Centre – London, United Kingdom, 1980. 

‘Contemporary Arab Graphics’, Graffiti Gallery – London, United Kingdom, 1982.

‘Contemporary Arab Artists III’, Iraqi Cultural Centre – London, United Kingdom, 1983.

SELECTED ARCHITECTURAL WORKS

Central Mosque – London, United Kingdom, 1976-1977.

Islamic Cultural Centre – London, United Kingdom, 1976-1977.

Aloussi Mosque – Baghdad, Iraq, 1982-1983.

Al-Aboud Mosque – Baghdad, Iraq, 1984.

OFFICIAL COLLECTIONS

The British Museum – London, United Kingdom.

Victoria and Albert Museum – London, United Kingdom.

Museum of Modern Art – New York, New York, USA.

National Museum of Modern Art – Baghdad, Iraq.

National Museum of Modern Art – Amman, Jordan.