Biography

Leila Kubba Kawash was born to a Swiss-American mother and an Iraqi father. She was educated in Baghdad and later earned a National Diploma in Art and Design from the Manchester School of Art and Architecture in the UK. Additionally, she spent five years studying at the Corcoran College of Art in Washington, D.C., and took courses in printmaking and painting at St. Martins College in London.

She has showcased her work in numerous international exhibitions, including 29 solo exhibitions. Her art has been displayed across six U.S. states, at the Atrium of the International Monetary Fund, and at Alif Gallery in Washington, D.C. She has also exhibited in Europe and the Middle East, including at Leighton House in London, Magna Gallery in Athens, cultural centers in Abu Dhabi and Amman, Orfali Gallery in Amman, and ArtSpace Hamra in Beirut. Additionally, she has participated in art fairs in Beirut and Bahrain.

Her works are featured in both private and public collections worldwide, including the British Museum, the International Monetary Fund, the Jordan National Gallery, the Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, and Audi Bank in Beirut.

Artist Statement

My art is shaped by the journey of my life — a journey that began in Iraq, where I was born, and has taken me across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. No matter where I have lived, Iraq and its history has remained the underlying thread in my work. Each place I have called home has left its mark on my artistic language: the soft, geometric light of the desert in Abu Dhabi; the mythology and classical heritage of Greece; the changing seasons of Virginia; the fragmented, vibrant energy of Beirut.

At the heart of my practice is a dialogue between past and present, between personal memory and collective history. My early work was deeply influenced by the landscape and mythology of Mesopotamia, a way to hold onto the richness of Iraq’s cultural heritage amidst the experience of displacement. But over time, the urgency of the present — wars, loss, survival — began to enter my paintings more directly. I found myself painting the daily life of the Middle East, the endurance of women and families, and the quiet resilience that threads through conflict and change.

Whether working in painting, drawing, collage, or mosaic, I return again and again to the act of assembling: gathering fragments, textures, and layers to create something whole. My work is an attempt to hold together the multiplicity of lives, histories, and emotions — to create coherence out of dissonance, beauty out of brokenness.

Looking back, I see how closely my work follows the contours of my life. Each painting carries within it the places I have lived, the people I have met, and the histories I continue to carry with me.

Current Work

She is the founder of ArtSpace Hamra and currently works in her studio in Beirut, where she conducts workshops and art classes.

Ongoing Projects

These days I am working on an exhibition related to my visit to the Marshes of Iraq.