FOR- Iraq

Najim Chechen, an ethnic Turkmen, was born in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, and has been living in the United States for the past 23 years. He is a professional artist who creates sculpture, pastels and drawings, and who specializes in the human figure.

Mr. Chechen received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Baghdad in 1970 and his Master of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute in 1984. After he refused an order to return to Iraq, he was stripped of his Iraqi citizenship by the Saddam Hussein government in 1983. Ten years later, he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.

The artist has performed dozens of works on commission for clients in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. He has exhibited frequently locally, nationally and internationally and received numerous awards, scholarships and honors.

In the 1980s, he created sculpture based on the daily experiences and struggles of the Iraqi people. "At the time, many people were persecuted by the regime," he says. "This was especially the case of those belonging to the ethnic minorities, like myself. They had to struggle with feelings of fear, humiliation and the injustice of discrimination."

Chechen recently visited Iraq for the first time in almost a quarter century. He was disturbed by the extent of the destruction caused by the war and the devastated lives of the people. His most recent sculptures express these feelings. But in addition to despair, they also embody hope for the future.

"Much of my work expresses the struggle for daily existence," Chechen says. "The figures express ambition and a yearning for hope and peace. My figures depict simple people who are looking life in the face. I have chosen to model them in textures that are rough and even homely to suggest commonplace people who endure a life with rough edges and hardship. In my work, the viewer can feel the presence of a vulnerable human spirit."

The plight of his people today is in stark contrast with their proud and ancient cultural heritage as the cradle of civilization. Through his work, Chechen celebrates that heritage. He says that many have forgotten that "this ancient land of Iraq is the land of Mesopotamia. This land is the land that gave us the legendary Tales of the Thousand and One Arabian Nights. This is the land of the legendary Garden of Eden. On this land, so many prophets have walked and been lain to rest. This is the fatherland of Abraham."

Chechen lives in Orange County, NY with his artist wife, Caroline Schulz. He founded the Fine Arts Studios Sculpture Center, which operates year-round sculpture workshops as well as a bronze-casting foundry. He is also co-founder of the Hudson Valley Sculptors Society.