Somali artist Abdiaziz Osman paints the heart of his country

  • Date: 04-Jun-2021
  • Source: Arab News
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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Somali artist Abdiaziz Osman paints the heart of his country

LONDON: Mogadishu, Florence, Tuscany, Sardinia, Minneapolis. Somali artist Abdiaziz (Aziz) Osman has called all these places home. In terms of the mastery and execution of his art it is his years spent in Italy, he says, that proved most influential, while in terms of subject matter it is his homeland of Somalia. When he spoke to Arab News from his home in Minneapolis, a warmth and animation came into his voice when he talked about memories from his Somali childhood which he has captured often in his work. Asked about his painting depicting an elderly couple sitting together in the early evening light, he said: "I remember how my grandparents would always move outside when the heat of the day subsided around 5 p.m. They would sit and chatter to each other in the cool of the early evening.“ Osman credits his Italian teachers at his school in Mogadishu with nurturing his love of art. His talent won him a scholarship in 1968 to study architecture at the University of Florence. He also enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, earning a second degree in 1978. He recalled the overwhelming experience of the first time he saw the works of