He fumbles for words to express his paintings. "They are about happiness," he says, "a celebration and a song about all the nice things in the world." But, even as he sets out to elaborate on these feelings, he stops himself to add, "I paint for myself and I have my own interpretations. My work here may seem like abstracts but really, figurative elements and emotions are very deviously woven into my art. You have to look very deeply to notice how I've combined human experience and landscapes."

Analyse
Indeed, you may require time to analyse Arab artist Iyad Al Mosawi's most recent collection of abstracts being displayed at the Decor Art in Abu Dhabi till tomorrow. But there's nothing missing here, they seem perfect and whole in their unity.

Yet, if they are about all the joy in the world, you wonder at the overwhelmingly dark and black shades in his oils and oil pastels exhibited for the show.

Iyad Al Mosawi explains: "The black backgrounds represent the time of the day I paint, which is usually at night. At the same time, I'm also trying to reflect the joy and beauty in nature hidden at night." He points to a painting which features just a rectangular block filled with bright colours against a black background as an example.

In other works, he introduces his love for nature by merging landscapes and Arab architecture with human forms. "I'm inspired by human nature and nature," he reiterates.

Background
Mosawi is a professional artist who has also worked as an art critic for Arab newspapers in Kuwait where he spent most of the early part of his life. Today, Al Mosawi devotes his time only to painting, having exhibited solo since the late '70s in many places around the world like England, Tunisia and Montreal to name a few.
Iraqi by birth, Mosawi, who studied art and print-making in the Concordia University in Montreal, resides in Canada. But he prefers to call himself an "arab artist".

Experience
What's it like being an Arab artist in the Western world? He replies: "My experience has not been very encouraging. Galleries in the Western world anxious to make money like to be safe while choosing artists. It's difficult for Arab artists to gain a foothold and requires more than one attempt.

"Even as I say this, I would not like to club Arab art into one niche, because art is about freedom. And Arab artists are scattered around the West and project their work as individuals."

Finally, it boils down to the private equation between the gallery and the artist and is about contacts and personal dealings, he says.

Mosawi is a familiar face on the UAE's art circuit, having exhibited several times in Dubai. This will be his second show in Abu Dhabi and he plans another during the year-end at the Cultural Foundation.