Dia al-Azzawi: Let me tell you a story to break the waking night — Dia al-Azzawi

Richard Saltoun Gallery presents Let me tell you a story to break the waking night, a survey of the monumental British-Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi (b. 1939, Baghdad; lives and works in London). Marking the artist's first solo exhibition in New York, the presentation spans several decades and explores storytelling as a defining thread throughout his work, from the intimacy of private reading to the communal narrative traditions of the Arab world. This show is named after the translation of a line said by Shehrezad that drives the plot of the famous framing story of One Thousand and One Nights (translated by Yasmine Seale, published 2021). It follows Azzawi's inclusion in numerous group shows in New York City, including Modernism and Iraq at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University (2009), Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011 at MoMA PS1 (2019-2020), and Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s at the Grey Gallery, New York University (2020).

A former archaeologist and museum curator, Azzawi was a pioneering figure in the development of Iraqi modernism during the 1960s. His practice draws on ancient Mesopotamian artefacts and ethnographic motifs, alongside a deep engagement with Arabic literature. From the mid-1960s, he began incorporating written Arabic into his art, initially drawing on popular phrases reflecting everyday life in Baghdad as part of his anthropological research. He later turned to the shared tradition of oral storytelling as a means of expressing a common Arab cultural identity in the aftermath of the failure of political pan-Arabism in 1967. At the heart of the exhibition is Azzawi's longstanding engagement with One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. His celebrated 1986 print portfolio is presented in its complete original de luxe edition, of which only 25 were produced. Drawing on historic sources ranging from Assyrian wall reliefs to Islamic manuscripts, the portfolio is a remarkable expression of Azzawi's distinctive visual language and displays his technical prowess as a printmaker. This work is flanked by two monumental figures at the entrance to the gallery, as if they are gathered to listen to the Nights and other stories, while the nearby monumental painting Oriental Window draws visitors into Azzawi's world.

The back gallery takes the form of a library, bringing together smaller artworks inspired by Azzawi’s private reading and the communal recitation of Arabic poetry. A central part of social and cultural life across the Arab world, the experience of hearing modern poetry has also informed Azzawi’s extensive body of artist’s books. Alongside these artworks, paintings reference stories through words that are fragmented, illegible or conspicuously absent, drawing instead on the shared cultural knowledge of the Nights and other storytelling traditions from across the Arab world and beyond.

A voracious reader, Azzawi has built an extensive library and archive over the decades. His collecting practice reflects a deep-rooted Iraqi tradition stretching back to ancient Mesopotamia, one increasingly threatened by conflict, corruption and political turmoil. This history is brought into the gallery through a dedicated bookshelf containing several publications connected to Azzawi’s work. Conceived as an evolving resource, the library will grow throughout the exhibition, with visitors invited to browse its contents, listen to poetry recitations and suggest books of personal or cultural significance. Bringing together the literary, cultural and social influences that have shaped Azzawi’s practice, Let me tell you a story to break the waking night explores his enduring engagement with the written and spoken word, and his distinctive approach to storytelling. Across artist’s books, paintings and prints, Azzawi  expresses personal and collective histories inspired by literature and shared oral tradition, offering a rare opportunity to encounter this breadth of work by one of the leading figures of Arab modernism.