Colorful Portrait Painting

Ayad Celebi was born in 1956 in Kirkouk, Iraq. When he was twenty years old, a world wide known Iraqi painter, Khaled Al Jadir, founder of the Iraqi Contemporary School of Arts in Baghdad, noticed him and saw in him a talented young artist. Two years later, he started drawing using Indian ink and reeds pen and worked as an illustrator and designer for several magazines, including a magazine for children. In 1981, he went to France where he joined the Academy of Fine Arts in the city Aix en Provence in the South of France. Two years later, he moved to Paris and worked at the Lacouriere Workshop (in Montmartre) to learn engraving techniques. In addition to engraving and painting, he worked as a designer, painter and calligrapher in the French and Arabic press. In 1988, he set up his own design studio Creation Dhanon. The studio's multi-disciplinary scope of work covers many activities, such as design for wall covering paper, textile, bedding, laminate, carpets, ceramic, tee-shirts, and packaging. For the last twenty years he participated at different design trade fairs: Paritex in Paris, France; Decosit in Brusells, Belgium; Heimtex in Francfort, Germany; Surtex in New York, USA. His designs are sold throughout the world (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, England, Sweeden, USA, Canada, Corea, Japan, Australia). The range of companies with whom Ayad Celebi works is wide. Among them, there is Ikea, Citroen (textile); Hilton hotels (fabrics and wallpapers), Cowtan and Tout, subsidiary company of Canovas, York Wall covering paper (USA), formica and laminate designs for companies such as Gerflor (France), Toppan, Interprint (USA) and Chiyoda (Japan), contract wall covering paper : Ideco ( Belgium ), Lutece, Grantil, Essef, Venilia, Chantemur ( France ), Novo, BN Omexo (Holland), Mayfair (England), PS, AS creations (Germany), Yeomyung, Hana corporation (Corea), Vision Wallcovering (Australia), Thybony, Sellers and Josephson, Shumacher, Wolf Gordon, Brunschwig and fils, Maharam, Vynil Services, Design Tex (USA).... As a longstanding member of the "Maison des Artistes", he participated in various exhibitions, some of which are devoted solely to his own work and others with fellow artists. He also took part in several contemporary art festivals (Tunis, Teheran, Sharjah, Koweit City, Cairo, Rabbat) and international exhibitions.