Wisam Al-Samad
Geometric Spirit

8. May – 7. June 2025
 

The work of ceramic artist Wisam Al-Samad (b. 1968, Iraq) is rooted in the millennial heritage of ceramic art in the Middle East. Present day Iraq is founded on the territories that was once the cradle of civilisation. Ancient Mesopotamia saw the beginning of agriculture, and consequently also of ceramics. It is a weighty heritage that Al-Samad encountered when he first enrolled in the Institute of Fine Arts in Bagdad in 1983. But early on he searched for ways to experiment and find a visual language that could translate this experience into a contemporary form. Wisam Al-Samad developed a repertoire of formal elements such as Arabic calligraphy and geometric forms which he uses to create abstract compositions that also relate to European Modernism. As Musa Al-Khamisi, author of the monograph Iraqi Plastic Artists on the Maps of Exile (2009), writes: “Wisam employs literal, figurative, logical, and illogical metaphors in their composition, atmosphere, and construction, seeking a balance between the originality of old forms and modernist symbols in an age in which traditions and fundamental values crumble.“
 
Wisam Al-Samad emerged early on as a major artistic voice in contemporary ceramics in the Middle East, however his career was abruptly interrupted by the Iraqi-American war. He was exiled together with his family and has been based in Norway for almost two decades. Although his works has been shown internationally for many years, it is only recently that the importance of his work has been fully acknowledged in Norway. Ram galleri is therefore proud to present a comprehensive solo-exhibition of Wisam Al-Samad in Oslo.