Faisel Laibi Sahi

Faisel Laibi Sahi is an Iraqi painter and draughtsman born in Basra — sources place his birth year in either 1945 or 1947 — whose career spans more than six decades and two continents. He received his foundational training at Baghdad's Institute of Fine Arts and Academy of Fine Arts before moving to Paris in 1974 to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the Sorbonne. Since 1991 he has lived and worked in London, where his practice continues to evolve while remaining deeply rooted in the visual culture and social memory of Iraq.

Sahi's paintings and drawings are distinguished by their attentiveness to everyday Iraqi life, rendered with a figurative sensibility that carries both documentary weight and lyrical depth. Coffee Shop in Baghdad, made in 1984, stands as one of his most emblematic works: Bildmuseet has described it as a representative depiction of Iraqi society during a period of relative stabilization, and it encapsulates the warmth and complexity with which Sahi approaches his subjects. His first solo exhibition dates to 1966, and in the decades since he has shown across the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. Notable presentations include a solo exhibition titled Agony and Recreation at Meem Gallery in Dubai in 2015, and a group exhibition at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona in 2006, Representaciones árabes contemporáneas. La ecuación iraquí, which situated his work within a broader critical conversation about Iraqi modernism. He also participated in Iraq, Two Faces at Albareh Gallery in Manama in 2010. His work is held in the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah, and he has received coverage in The National, among other publications.

In 2026, two significant presentations will bring renewed international attention to Sahi's practice. A retrospective at Art Forward Gallery in London, running from 5 November to 19 December 2026, will survey work from his 1966 debut through his recent London output — offering the most comprehensive view of his career to date. That same year, his work will appear in MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art at Christie's in Abu Dhabi, placing him within a landmark survey of the region's artistic history. Together, these exhibitions affirm Sahi's standing as one of the enduring figures of Iraqi modernism and a painter whose long arc of work rewards sustained attention.