Ahmed Alsoudani's turbulent paintings depict a disfigured tableau of war and atrocity. Although the content of the paintings draws on the artists' own experiences of recent wars in Iraq, the imagery of devastation and violence - often laced with a morbid and barbed humor - evoke a universal experience of conflict and human suffering. Deformed figures, some almost indistinguishable and verging on the bestial, intertwine and distort in vivid, surreal landscapes. Figures are often depicted at a moment of transition - through fear or agony - from human to grotesque. Alsoudani draws on many artists for inspiration and imagery - from Caravaggio to Carroll Dunham - yet has a clearly developed language of his own.
