Life and career
Kufi was born 1962 in Baghdad, Iraq and spent his early childhood there. He studied at the Bagdhad Institute of Fine Arts, graduating in 1985. He served in the Iraqi military during the Iran–Iraq War, and was deeply affected by the atrocities he witnessed.
He left Iraq in 1990 and settled in the Netherlands in 1994 and studied graphic design there. He now divides his time between the Netherlands, Cairo, and the Middle East..
Since 2004, he has published the monthly Daftar, an e-publication that features succinct works by artists and writers.
Current Work
As with many Iraqi artists now living in exile, Kufi’s art explores themes such as war and its aftermath, political conflict, exile, loss, and historical memory. Much of his work contains autobiographical elements. He is a multi-disciplinary artist, working as a painter, graphic designer and print maker. He has had more than 20 solo exhibitions, and has been included in scores of group exhibitions that feature leading Iraqi artists of the post-independence period.