Born in Karkuk, Iraq, in 1960, Himat has been strongly influenced by the philosophy and work of the late Iraqi artist, Shaker Hassan Al Said. He worked and exhibited in Japan and has lived in Paris since 1989. Himat has held solo exhibitions in Paris and Tokyo, as well as in Switzerland, the Netherlands and several Arab countries.

He collaborated on the creation of artists' books with such well-known poets as André Velter, Bernard Noël, Adonis, Gotaro Tsunezumi and Michel Butor. Among his numerous group exhibitions is, "Iraqi Artists in Exile," held at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, Texas, a travelling exhibition that opened in November 2008.

"Each time I see Himat's works, I am reminded of the precision of Far Eastern painters, of their gentleness and extreme sensitivity to nature and their total absorption into the images it evokes through line and colour. Himat, a painter who has abandoned painting - in the traditional and literal sense - does not paint what he sees.

The lines guide his hand, leading him to their nerve centres; he restrains himself, like any traditional calligrapher, to master his own emotions. Himat is not afraid of what might result from the adventure of losing himself in the midst of this vast, infinite world of lines. It is almost like being swept away in a never-ending song of praise."

Farouk Youssef