No borders: Artist Mhmood Goyani bridges cultures from Mosul to Marble Falls
Mhmood Goyani stands among his paintings, each piece a reflection of his journey from Mosul, Iraq, to Marble Falls, Texas. His work spans multiple mediums, blending symbolism, history, and emotion. Staff photo by Elizabeth De Los Santos
For some, art is a profession. For others, it’s a passion. For Mhmood Goyani, art is survival. It is a way to preserve history, rebuild culture, and capture life. The painter, sculptor, and designer from Mosul, Iraq, has spent a lifetime mastering his craft.
Now living in Marble Falls, Goyani continues his artistic journey, bridging the past and present, East and West, though his work reflects the same driving force that has guided him since childhood: an unshakable desire to create.
“I paint every day,” he said. “I don’t stop. Even if I don’t have the best materials right now, I still create.”
Born in 1970, Goyani grew up in Mosul, a city known for its rich history and architectural marvels. From an early age, his talent was undeniable.
“I started drawing when I was 8 or 9,” he said. “My family tells me I would sketch on school walls, in my home, anywhere I could.”
Goyani works across multiple mediums and styles, from hyperrealistic portraits to bold, abstract, or surreal compositions.
“I never studied art in a formal school,” he said, “but I learned from experience, from practicing every day. I met many great artists who guided me along the way.”
His paintings often feature symbolism: a horse representing freedom, a bird as a messenger of hope. Even his landscapes and cityscapes go beyond simply depicting places.
“When I paint, I don’t just copy what I see,” he explained. “I change the sky, the light, the mood. Sometimes, I put details that aren’t really there, because that’s what the painting needs.”
He also sculpts, particularly in stone and wood.
“Marble and alabaster are beautiful materials, but carving them creates so much dust,” he said. “It’s exhausting, but I love it.”
Goyani’s experience working with stone is mainly through restoring historic sites. During the occupation of Mosul by ISIS terrorists, the city’s historic landmarks and religious sites were destroyed. When the city was liberated, Goyani played a crucial role in restoring its heritage, working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to rebuild Mosul’s most treasured monuments.
“This was more than just construction,” he said. “It was about restoring the identity of my city, giving people back a sense of home.”
Using old photographs, architectural blueprints, and in many cases, his own imagination, Goyani meticulously recreated sculptures, ornate carvings, and traditional stonework that had been lost.
“Sometimes, there was no record of what these buildings looked like,” he said. “The engineers trusted me to recreate history from my knowledge or sometimes a very old photo.”
In 1994, Goyani traveled from Mosul to northern Iraq toward Turkey to escape the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein, who ruled Iraq from 1979-2003.
“When I reached the Iraqi-Turkish border, I found Kurdish immigrants who had fled Turkey due to the fighting between Turkey and opposition parties,” he said. “Their situation was terrible, and I stayed with them for nearly a year. I took some pictures, I drew them, and this girl was one of those works.”
The portrait of two displaced children—a young girl and a baby—holds deep meaning for Goyani.
“I made this painting from a piece of tent fabric I painted on,” he said. “The girl is young in the painting, but if you look at her hand, you’ll see it looks like a hand for an old woman because there they were suffering. Their life was very hard: no food, no drink, no water, nothing available there.”
That painting was part of his first solo exhibition, “Fruits of Migration,” which featured more than 40 oil paintings, all of which were eventually lost to war.
“War affects everyone in different ways,” Goyani said. “For me, it meant instability and constant movement, which caused great loss, not just of home, but of my artwork. I lost my entire first exhibition. I also lost freedom of expression, and I suffered the political and economic consequences of that time.”
In 2023, Goyani moved to Texas, where he now lives with his wife. The transition as an artist from Mosul to Marble Falls has come with challenges.
“In Iraq, my work was known,” he said. “Here, I had to start over. Breaking into the American art scene has not been easy.”
Despite the challenges, he refuses to stop creating. He has begun sharing his work on social media, selling pieces through online marketplaces and participating in local art events.
He dreams of having a solo exhibition in Texas, where people can see his work in person rather than just online.
“Seeing a painting in real life is different,” he said. “You can feel the texture, the details, the energy.”
Goyani is always creating new works that express his heritage and American experience in Marble Falls. Whether through a detailed cityscape, an abstract burst of color, or a hand-carved sculpture, his art speaks to a universal truth: Creativity knows no borders.
“I paint because it’s who I am,” he said. “ Whether in Mosul or Texas, I will always be an artist.”
For more information on Mhmood Goyani and his work, visit his website.