Hayv Kahraman

Hayv Kahraman (1981 – ) is an Iraqi-born artist based in the USA, known for her work that explores themes of identity, displacement, and the female experience. Her cross-cultural art style is influenced by Persian miniatures, Renaissance and Chinese painting, Art Nouveau, and fashion illustrations. This blend of influences allows her to set contemporary dialogues within the rich fabric of history. Kahraman’s technically diverse practice includes painting, drawing, object-making, and performance. She often paints on linen panels, depicting dark-haired, pale-skinned women and decorating her work with Islamic geometric patterns. Her technique involves sizing her stretched linen and canvas works with a thin layer of rabbit-skin glue before applying paint to its unprimed surface. This method, learned from traditionally trained Italian artists and conservators, contributes to the highly polished finish of her work.