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Mohammad Omer Khalil

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Mohammad Omer Khalil (born 1936)


Biography

Early life

Mohammad Omer Khalil was born in 1936 in the Burri Almahas neighborhood of Khartoum, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (modern-day Sudan). After graduating from Khartoum's School of Fine and Applied Arts in 1959 where he studied under Greek artist Aristomenis Angelopoulos, he taught at the school for the next four years.[1][2] Khalil moved to Italy to study painting and mosaics at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (ABAF) in Florence. He was able to attend the academy due to receiving a scholarship from the Sudanese Ministry of Education. At ABAF, Kahlil studied fresco painting under Primo Conti. He also took classes in etching under Rodolfo Margheri. After graduating, he studied mosaics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna in 1966.[1][2][3]

Career

1960s to 1980s

After leaving Italy, Kahlil briefly taught at the Khartoum Technical Institute in Sudan before immigrating to the United States in 1967, becoming an expert in printmaking.[1][2] Khalil's works gained popularity, part of a new wave of African art that reached Europe and North America.[1] In 1970, he opened a printing atelier, where he began printing editions for renowned artists, including Emma Amos, Romare Bearden, Jim Dine, Al Held, Norman Lewis, Louise Nevelson, and Sean Scully.[2]

He taught etching at Pratt Institute starting in 1973, the first of several schools of higher learning where he has taught. Other schools include Columbia University, New York University, The New School and the Parsons School of Design.[1][2][4] In addition to teaching at these schools, Khalil spent much time teaching in New York City at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and the Asilah Printmaking Workshop in Asilah.[2]

Khalil's travels throughout the Arab world and his time spent in Italy and New York City has greatly influenced his works.[4] It was in Morocco where his first solo exhibition took place in 1979 at the Galerie Basamat in Casablanca. This was followed by solo exhibitions at The New School in 1981, New York City's Limited Art Editions in 1984. That same year he was part of group exhibitions at the El Paso Museum of Art, Texas Tacoma Art Museum, Washington Seventh Norwegian Print Biennial, and the African American Museum in Dallas.[3]

In 1985, he participated in group exhibitions at the International Triennial of Original Graphic Prints in Grenchen, Switzerland, the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, and the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina. During the rest of the decade, Khalil's work was shown in Israel, Iraq, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Solo exhibitions during this time include ones at the Alif Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Eleini Gallery in London, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York City.[3]

Khalil is a fan of Bob Dylan's music and in 1986, created a seven-part series of etchings with aquatint prints inspired by Dylan's music.[1]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). One of these prints, Tangled Up in Blue, was later purchased by the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.[5] Although the series was inspired by Dylan, they show scenes in Sudan, including one of Suakin.[6]

1990s to present

During the 1990s, Khalil's works were shown in group exhibitions at the International Monetary Fund Center in Washington, D.C., the Osaka Triennial in Osaka, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in New York. Solo exhibitions included ones at the Alif Gallery, Galerie Teinturerie and Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and the Al-Wasiti Gallery in Amman.[3] A major exhibition took place in 1994 at the National Museum of African Art where Khalil's works, sculptures by Amir I.M. Nour, and "book art" by Atta Kwami were displayed. Describing Khalil's work in The Washington Post, a reporter said Khalil's artistic style "equally embraces America's Bob Dylan and Jordan's ruined Petra."[6]

Selected works

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Oweis, Fayeq S (2007). Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 173–175. ISBN 9780313070310.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mohammad Omer Khalil: Musings". Washington & Lee University. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mohammad Omer Khalil". Aicon Gallery. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Mohammad Omer Khalil". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference smithsonian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference wapo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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