Born in the city of Hilla in central Iraq, close to the ancient city of Babylon, Mehdi Moutashar graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, Iraq in 1966 and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France in 1970. He is a former professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1974-2008.

Moutashar has exhibited internationally with recent solo exhibitions including: Mehdi Moutashar: Introspection as Resistance, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar; Frieze Masters, Spotlight section with Lawrie Shabibi, London, United Kingdom (forthcoming - October 2023); TRAME at Abbaye de Cluny, France (2022); Mehdi Moutashar: Cardinal Points, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2021); Abu Dhabi Art Fair with Lawrie Shabibi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2021); Racines carrées, AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2021); Abbaye de Cluny, France (2021); Hoffmann Gallery, Friedberg, Germany (2019); Measuring Space, National Theatre & Albareh Gallery, Bahrain (2017); Victor Sfez Gallery, Paris (2016); AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2016); Le Petit Temple Gallery, Lasalle, France (2014); Linde Hollinger Gallery, Ladenburg, Germany (2013); AL/MA Gallery, Montpellier, France (2012), and Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany (2011), amongst others.


In 2018 he won the prestigious Jameel Prize 5 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) London, sharing the accolade with Marina Tabassum, an architect from Bangladesh. Moutashar received the award for his bold work of minimalist abstraction rooted in Islamic geometry - exhibited as part of the finalists’ group show at the V&A (2018), followed by a second iteration at Jameel Art Center, Dubai (2019).



His work has been exhibited as part of numerous group shows including, most recently: As by chance!, Museum of Art and History of Cholet, France (2023); Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto Of Fragility, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar (2023); Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility at the 16th Lyon Biennale, macLYON, Lyon, France (2022); Art Dubai with Lawrie Shabibi (2022); Small is beautiful!, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2021); Structure du Silence, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2021); Espace Oblique, Galerie Denise René, Paris (2018); Bagdad Mon Amour, Institut des Cultures d'Islam, Paris (2018); Art Dubai with Albareh Gallery (2017); Au-delà de la forme: Richard Serra / Mehdi Moutashar, Palais du Tau, Reims (2016); Hommage au Carré noir de Malevitch, Musée Vasarely, Budapest (2015); Galerie Deleuze-Rochetin, Arpaillargues (2011); and François Morellet et Mehdi Moutashar, Institut des Cultures de l’Islam, Paris (2010).
Mehdi Moutashar’s wall-based works, which he terms “Constructions,” exude a sense of rotation and dynamism. Utilizing a palette limited to black, white, and ultramarine blue, these geometric sculpture-paintings create the illusion of objects in flux, either spinning or deliberately moving toward a focal point.

In this work, Moutashar employs elastic materials to form squares that he configures and reconfigures into energetic geometric compositions, adhering to self-imposed rules. These pieces emphasize the interplay between voids and solid forms, light and shadow, inviting viewers to envision their own interpretations of the outlines.

The titles of Moutashar’s works often reflect his creative process and visual language, with recurring terms such as “plis” (folds), “mouvement” (movement), “angles,” and “carrés” (squares). While not overtly calligraphic, his works share characteristics with Arabic calligraphy. His squares evoke the “nuqta” (dots) of the “qalam” (reed pen); black rectangles and lines fold upon themselves, resembling calligraphic flourishes; and his rule-based approach mirrors the principles established by 10th-century Arab vizier and calligrapher Ibn Muqla.

Moutashar’s art resides at the intersection of Western geometric abstraction and Islamic artistic traditions, creating a dialogue between cultural heritage and contemporary expression.
Alongside these are a group of works entitled Mouvements (2016) in which Moutashar remakes his lost geometric paintings from the late 1960s. Rather than using paper or canvas, his choice of laser-cut steel, painted either blue or black, allows for very different optical effects.
 
Mehdi Moutashar’s work inhabits a world of angles, folds and in-between spaces; an elusive universe that occupies the space between Iraq, his home of origin, and France, his home of choice.


His work is held in collections worldwide, including Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia; Fonds Régional Art Contemporain Provence Alpes, Côte d’Azur; Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany; Montbéliard Museum, France; Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône, France; Klingspor Museum der Stadt, Offenbach, Germany; Fine Arts Museum, Cholet, France; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Modern Art Museum, Tunis; and National Modern Art Museum, Bagdad, Iraq.