Image: Wafaa Bilal (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY), Domestic Tension, 2007. © Wafaa Bilal, courtesy of the artist.
EFA Studio Member Wafaa Bilal was named ARTnews’ 2025 Established Artist of the Year.
“For nearly two decades, Wafaa Bilal has put his body on the line for his art-making. “Indulge Me” at the MCA Chicago, the first major survey for the Iraqi American artist, showcased how his work highlights the tension—implicit at times, explicit at others—between what is perceived to be a conflict zone and what is perceived to be its inverse, a “comfort zone.”
Much of his work examines the role of the United States in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. “I watched the terror unfold on a small TV in my studio apartment in Lakeview, and I knew the world would never be the same,” he has said. An even more personal reality—the 2004 killing of his brother by a remotely operated drone in Iraq—has further informed his practice…
…Bilal’s art has contended with that powerful inquiry for years, making it prescient in our current moment, in which conflicts in many corners of the world are seen at a remove by many.”