WATANI International
28 November 2010
Flesh
The Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek, Cairo, is hosting an exhibition of paintings by Samir Fouad under the title of Flesh. Fouad, 66, is best known for his rendition of movement and time. Using oil and water colours he shows the effect that the passage of time leaves on objects, whether they are in motion or still. The show opened on 21 November and runs until 17 December.
Rêves d’Orient
A new exhibition by Katherine Bakhoum, Rêves d’Orient (Dreams of the Orient), opened at the Safar Khan Art Gallery in Zamalek, Cairo on 3 November and will run until the end of this month. Bakhoum, who was born in Cairo in 1949 and is half Egyptian and half French, studied at the Atelier Met de Penninghen and the Ecole Estienne in Paris. Her work was exhibited for the first time in Paris in 1984. Since 1999 Bakhoum has had two shows a year, one in Paris and one at the Safar Khan gallery. Using pastel and mixed media on paper, Bakhoum’s Oriental-style paintings are made up of tender strokes and subtle pastel tones, but nevertheless transmit strong and powerful messages.
Commenting on the exhibition, Bakhoum says: “In spite of the variety of the themes I think I have found a coherent sense in this exhibition through both the technique with the colour and the different historical inclinations which all took me back to the Orient.”
Black and white
Black and white dialogue was the theme title of an exhibition by the designer Isaak Azmi held earlier this month in his centre in Heliopolis, Cairo. Through his designs and paintings Azmi campaigned for the preservation of ancient Cairo, denouncing the decay of the old city caused by a general lack of interest and concern. The exhibition closed on 19 November.
Tree of Life
The Gezira Art Centre in Cairo has hosted Tree of Life, an exhibition by Mohamed Abla. The works on display depicted studies of the artist’s warm relationship with the Tree of Life and with the Nile, using photographs, video, and installations. In Abla’s works the tree plays a vital role, bringing strongly to mind the evolution a human being goes through as he or she grows older. In this case the tree is exploited as a special symbol. The exhibition closed last week.
Searching for Nubia
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO Nubia Salvage appeal to save the monuments of Nubia from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by artist Farid Fadel, Searching for Nubia, was held earlier this month at the Mahmoud Mukhtar Museum in Gezira, Cairo. Some 100 watercolours, oil paintings and pencil drawings depicted Fadel’s journey through time and place to explore the old world of Nubia before it drowned under the vast artificial lake. For background Fadel depended on the tales and recollections of elderly people in the era.
Some of Fadel’s paintings depict the Nubian village with its unique architectural style, including the rough walls, façades and coloured decorations inspired by birds, animals and geometric motifs. Fadel welcomed the guests at the opening with a performance by a Nubian dance troupe.