Afifa Aleiby
عفيفه العيبي







Born in Basra, Iraq in 1953
1974 Graduated at the Istitute of Arts, Baghdad, Iraq.
1981 Graduated at the Surikov Institute of Arts, Moscow, Russia.
Afifa Aleiby has emerged from the humanistic, agnostic currents that have existed in Iraq for thousands of years. It is the same current that made the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers the cradle of western civilization. But it is the same sense of liberty that made Afifa Aleiby flee her country after she finished her academy education in Baghdad at age 22. She went to study at the Surikov Institute in Moscow where she studied with Ivan Loubennikov, among others. The eight years in Moscow were followed by 12 years in Florence and a short spell teaching in Yemen. For several years Afifa Aleiby has lived in The Netherlands.
Her work is steeped in the mentality that her life has determined. Her self-awareness as a woman, her struggles, but also her dreams and her unshakable belief in a better future took form in monumental figures of women. In addition to the unmistakable Arabic roots of the style, it is fascinating to see how Aleiby’s work was influenced by her stay in Russia, Italy and The Netherlands. Striking in the new collection is the fact that the eyes of the personages depicted are directing their gaze outwards, where her earlier ones were predominantly closed. The inner quest seems complete; the world can be encountered with renewed insight.
عفيفه العيبي







Born in Basra, Iraq in 1953
1974 Graduated at the Istitute of Arts, Baghdad, Iraq.
1981 Graduated at the Surikov Institute of Arts, Moscow, Russia.
Afifa Aleiby has emerged from the humanistic, agnostic currents that have existed in Iraq for thousands of years. It is the same current that made the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers the cradle of western civilization. But it is the same sense of liberty that made Afifa Aleiby flee her country after she finished her academy education in Baghdad at age 22. She went to study at the Surikov Institute in Moscow where she studied with Ivan Loubennikov, among others. The eight years in Moscow were followed by 12 years in Florence and a short spell teaching in Yemen. For several years Afifa Aleiby has lived in The Netherlands.
Her work is steeped in the mentality that her life has determined. Her self-awareness as a woman, her struggles, but also her dreams and her unshakable belief in a better future took form in monumental figures of women. In addition to the unmistakable Arabic roots of the style, it is fascinating to see how Aleiby’s work was influenced by her stay in Russia, Italy and The Netherlands. Striking in the new collection is the fact that the eyes of the personages depicted are directing their gaze outwards, where her earlier ones were predominantly closed. The inner quest seems complete; the world can be encountered with renewed insight.