Maryam Yousif (b. 1985 Baghdad, Iraq) lives and works in San Francisco, CA. Yousif’s practice is rooted in clay sculpture and demonstrates an ongoing engagement with Mesopotamian mythologies, histories and objects alongside modernist visual vocabularies and contemporary popular culture. Her distinctive sensibility is derived from sources such as Iraqi modernism and Bay Area Funk.
Yousif received her BA at the University of Windsor, Ontario in 2008 and her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2017. Solo and two-person exhibitions include ICA San Francisco, CA (2024); Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco, CA (2024); The Pit, Los Angeles / Palm Springs, CA (2023, 2021); David B. Smith, Denver, CO (2022); and Andrew Rafacz, Chicago, IL (2021); amongst others.
Yousif’s work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, Davis, CA (2024); GGLA, Los Angeles, CA (2024); Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA (2023); Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY (2023); and Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY (2023); amongst others.
She received the Fleishhacker Foundation’s Eureka Fellowship in 2024 and was a finalist for SFMOMA’s SECA award in 2022 and the Museum of Art and Design’s Burke Prize in 2021.
Yousif's work is in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO and Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY.
-
Asian Art Museum
Rave into the Future : Art in Motion October 24, 2025Oct 24, 2025 – Jan 12, 2026 Rave into the Future offers a space of joyful connection and community through a blend of music- and...Read more -
The New York Times
Joy and Pathos, Gods and Glitter Meet at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum October 14, 2025By Bonnie Tsui Perhaps nothing captures the joy and pathos of an after-party more than glitter on the loose. In “Puff Out,” a playful installation...Read more -
Observer
In Two Shows, Maryam Yousif’s Clay Sculptures Evoke Mesopotamian Culture and the Divine Feminine December 9, 2024Art is a space where conversations collide in Maryam Yousif's whimsical, cheeky and thoughtful three-dimensional works—exchanges that connect the women of Mesopotamia’s long history with...Read more