Ismail Khayat, the 'grandfather of Kurdish art', dies aged 78

He taught generations of creatives and produced almost 8,000 works during his career

Ismail Khayat died in October 2022; he had been in a coma for two years. Photo: Ismail Khayat / Facebook

He was known fondly by critics and fans as 'the godfather of Kurdish art'. Photo: Ismail Khayat / Facebook

He developed a distinctive style, inspired by Kurdish folklore and symbolism and Iraqi landscapes, infused with Kurdish issues of collective struggle and political isolation. Photo: Ismail Khayat / Facebook

Over the course of his career, Khayat displayed his work across Iraq, the Arab region and the wider world; with shows in France, the US, Japan and others. Photo: Ismail Khayat / Facebook

An exhibition of Khayat's is on show at the Sharjah Art Museum until November 27. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

One of his artworks from 2012, an acrylic and ink piece. Photo: Ismail Khayat / Facebook

Working with various mediums, he produced nearly 8,000 works over his life. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

He regularly painted vibrant portraits of women inspired by his mother and wife. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

After meeting his wife Gaziza Omer, Khayat's work became noticably more colourful. Kurdish Music, 2001. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Khayat stands with a painting of peace in Pirar in 2000, no man's land during the Kurdish Civil war. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Khayat produced several expressive and analytical works depicting the cityscape of Baghdad. A Balcony in Baghad, 1965, Chinese ink on paper. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

The 'stone man' pushed mediums to their limits. Stones in shape of Hand 2013, Acrylic on Stones. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Birds feature prominently in Khayat's work as symbols of peace and freedom. A Bird, oil on paper. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Untitled, 1980, oil color on canvas. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Khayat's work demonstrated a wide array of forms, including this piece from the Sham and Land collection, 1978. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Masks, 2004, pen on Chinese paper. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

The landscapes of Iraqi Kurdistan are threaded throughout Khayat's works. Near the River, 2006, watercolour and ink on paper. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

An installation of painted stones of peace in the Pirar Mountains, 1999. Photo: Ismail Khayat Gallery

Ismail Khayat, the artist known as the "grandfather of Kurdish art" and "the Picasso of Iraq", has died after two years in a coma.

News of his death was announced in a statement by his family, though the cause was not revealed.

Sharjah Museums Authority, which is currently displaying a collection of his work, paid tribute yesterday with a statement: "May his soul rest in peace and may God grant his family ... patience and solace."

A prolific artist, Khayat was a leading pioneer of modern Kurdish art, emerging onto the global stage with a distinct vision and style. His work, numbering in the thousands, took cues not only from his Iraqi-Kurdish heritage, but the political instability and isolation his people faced within his own lifetime.

Khayat was born on July 1, 1944, in Khanaqin, a town in Iraq's Diyala Governate, alongside the Alwand River near the Iranian border — where most residents spoke the Luri dialect of the Kurdish language. He came from a line of tailors, reflected in the family name "Khayat", which means "tailor" in Kurdish.

The third of seven children, Khayat's talent emerged at a young age, as he spent much of his childhood drawing over the walls of his house with charcoal.

After secondary school, he went to the Teachers' Institute in Baqubah, before moving to the city of Sulaymaniyah. It was there he developed his natural abilities into an artistic discipline; going on to teach art at public schools across the city for 25 years, and later at the American University of Iraq.

Considered a pioneer of contemporary Kurdish art, he developed a distinctive style, inspired by Kurdish folklore and symbolism and Iraqi landscapes, infused with Kurdish issues of collective struggle and political isolation.

Working with various mediums, he produced nearly 8,000 works over his life — more than 100 of which are now on show as part of Sharjah Art Museum's Lasting Impressions series, highlighting key figures in the evolution of contemporary Arab art.

Although he worked predominantly with paint, during the Kurdish Civil War of the 1990s he created a notable series of boulders, adorned with messages of peace, in Kurdistan's region of Pirar, alongside thousands of smaller painted rocks.

From the storied streets and minarets of Baghdad to the landscapes and animals of Sulaymaniyah, and vibrant portraits of women inspired by his mother and wife, Khayat’s unique practice and range of work distinguished his work from that of his contemporaries.

Asides from traditional symbols, such as the evil eye, and the hamsa — an emblem containing a right hand with an eye — Khayat frequently used birds to depict freedom and the fragility of life. In a series reflecting the persecution of Iraqi Kurds, he depicted ghostly birds floating away from the bodies of the dead.

Over the course of his career, Khayat exhibited his work across Iraq, the region and the world; with shows in France, the US, Japan and more. He later served as an arts director for the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Culture.

Khayat is survived by his wife, artist and actress Gaziza Omer, as well as their son Hayas and daughter Hasara, who have infused the family's legacies of art and tailoring into a Kurdish fashion label, Nakhsh. Hayas co-curated the current Sharjah Art Museum exhibition with Alya Al-Mulla.

Ismail Khayat's work is on show at Sharjah Art Museum until November 27.