Kareem Risan (b. Baghdad, 1960) received his BA from the Fine Arts College, Department of Painting, Baghdad, in 1988. His solo exhibitions include National Museum, Baghdad, 1992; Dar Al Mashriq Gallery, Amman, 1997; Al Riwaq Gallery, Bahrain, 2005; and Gallery Hittite, Toronto. International group exhibitions include Between the Tigris and Euphrates, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, 1988; Chair Exhibition: Arabic Contemporary Artists, Darat Al Funun, Amman, 1994; Contemporary Iraqi Art, Museum of Art, Tunis and Museum of Modern Art, Caracas, 2000; Contemporary Iraqi Art, China International Museum, Beijing, 2001; The Broken Letter: Arab Contemporary Artists, Kunst Gallery, Darmstadt, 2003; Contemporary Iraqi Book Art, University of North Texas Gallery, Texas, 2005; Word into Art, British Museum, London, 2006; Modernism and Iraq, Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, 2009; Iraqi Artists in Exile, Station Museum, Houston, Texas, 2009; Beyond the War, LTMH Gallery, New York, 2010; and My Home Land, Art Sawa Gallery, Dubai, 2010.

Risan's work is held in the collections of the Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Darat Al Funun, Amman; Kinda Foundation, Saudi Arabia; British Museum, London; Touuch@Art, London; and Athar Gallery, Baghdad. Risan's work draws references from wall painting and society's relationship with nature; he also communicates ideas related to the destruction and devastation of Iraq through his art work.