Mohammad Omer Khalil, a 90-year-old Sudanese artist and master printmaker, is the subject of a five-institution exhibition titled "Common Ground" spanning New York, Philadelphia, and Michigan. The show brings together six decades of his prints and paintings, along with ephemera from his travels, oral histories, and cultural influences. Khalil, who has lived in the US since 1967, learned printmaking at the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and has taught at Pratt Institute, the New School, Columbia University, and New York University. He also produces editions with notable artists and has maintained a long connection to the Asilah Cultural Moussem in Morocco.
This exhibition matters because it introduces a significant but underrecognized figure in American art to a wider audience, highlighting his collaborative and pedagogical contributions. Khalil's work, which incorporates found materials and stamps, challenges the boundaries between abstraction and representation. The multi-venue format underscores his belief that "common ground" exists everywhere, bridging Sudanese, American, and North African artistic traditions. It also reflects a growing institutional effort to spotlight diasporic and marginalized artists who have shaped global printmaking.