SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - A new face at the Sacramento State Fair this year at the Valley Sculpture Artists (VSA) booth is Raad Alnahat, an immigrant from Iraq who will be filling the VSA demonstration spot Chris Thompson held at the fair for many years.

Alnahat has many credentials and will be demonstrating his unique process of combining sculpture and ceramics to construct large figures during the two weeks of the fair.  He will show his particular process for how he constructs larger format forms. His work reflects his culture, featuring works from biblical days. After Israel, Iraq has the most biblical history of any country in the world.

One of Alnahat’s pieces is a six-foot tall, 250-pound statue of the last great king of Assyria. King Ashurbanipal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire reigned for 38 years from 669 BC to his death in 631 BC in Nineveh. The four intricate sections of his piece include the head, a lion and an engraved tablet with writing in four languages.

Alnahat studied in Iraq, receiving his Certificate of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1985, specializing in sculpture. He has taught painting, ceramics, and calligraphy for over 10 years and participated in many galleries and exhibits in Iraq, including his own personal exhibit 1987. He shared in an email that he had to leave Nineveh, Iraq in 2008 because of the war. He traveled to Turkey and lived there for two years showing his work in numerous galleries as well as teaching calligraphy.

“I came to the United States in 2010 with my family and began studying all forms of art to improve myself, but I mostly enjoyed ceramics because it relates closely to my style. I studied at American River College and one of my large sculptures stands in their Art department today. Through my work in ceramics, I was able to combine ceramics with sculpture. My work is mostly influenced from our history in Iraq such as the Babylonian empire, Assyrian empire, etc.”  Alnahat will be demonstrating his unique style daily at the VSA booth from 1 p.m.to 4 p.m.