WATANI International
26 July 2009
Landmarks
For a month starting 5 July the Masaar Art Gallery in Zamalek, Cairo, is featuring a perspective of the finest contemporary Egyptian artists whose works represent milestones on the path of local art. The exhibition, entitled “Landmarks of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, highlights the works of three generations of art movements, starting with the pioneers of the 20th century such as the Wanli brothers and Ragheb Ayad. The second generation includes, among many others, George Bahgoury, and Omar al-Nagdi, while the works of the vibrant artists of today, including Asmaa al-Nawawi, Khaled Hafez and Hany Rashed, show a very promising future.
Masterpieces
With styles ranging from the expressionist to the abstract, paintings by some of the most prominent of Egypt’s artists are on show at the Zamalek Art Gallery, Cairo. “Masterpieces VII” is the title of the exclusive collection by Abdel-Rahman al-Nachar, Farghali Abdel-Hafez, Farouq Hosni, Gazbia Sirry, Hamed Owaiss and Rabab Nemr. The exhibition runs until the end of September.
Perfect selection
The Cordoba Gallery in Mohandessin, Cairo, is hosting a group exhibition of selected paintings and sculptures by 50 artists including Hussein al-Gebali, George Bahgory, Nagwa al-Ashri, Gamil Shafiq, Hoda Murad, Heba Enayat, Ali Dessouki and Ahmed Asqalani, Ibrahim Abdel-Malak and Abdel-Aziz Saab. The veteran artist Ahmed Sabri is the exhibition’s guest of honour. The exhibition runs until 27 July.
Female art
The works of five female artists: Amal Abdel-Bari, Amani Zahran, Djihan Raouf, Nadia al-Tatawi and Nermin Hakim, were on show earlier this month at the Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek, Cairo. The exhibition, which went under the name “Meeting and Visions”, revealed how exceptional were the styles of the artists, each in her own distinctive way.
Egyptian scenes
“Scenes from the Egyptian environment” was the theme of an exhibition by the artist Sayed al-Bibani held earlier this month at the Mubarak Public Library in Giza. Through his paintings Bibani relays his impressions of the Egyptian environment in folkloric, rural and coastal scenes.
Double shows
This month the Journalists’ Syndicate hosted two exhibitions by the artists Ahmed Galal Ibrahim and Naglaa’ Ahmed. The first presented paintings under the title “Spring Morning”, all of them reflecting the beauty of nature through the use of bright, vivid colours. Ahmed depicted her own vision of human feelings and experiences.
30 degrees
Mary Fikry
Is it possible to be in more than one place at a time? This was one of the questions raised in a new exhibition created by artists Pekka Persson from Norway and Hamdi Reda from Egypt. Persson and Reda began their collaboration in 2007 when Persson visited Cairo and was invited to exhibit at the Lewa, a local art scene established by Reda. Since then they have been exploring each other’s environment, and as a result an exhibition has emerged which plays with the idea of two worlds reflected as one.
The exhibition, which was hosted by the Gezira Art Centre and included photographs, a slide show and a video installation, was named “30 degrees”, a reference to the geographical distance between Cairo and Oslo. Although the cities may seem far apart, the dialogue between the artists focused on similarities rather than contrasts. It visualised the shared human aspects of urban life that link the two cities together and fits fragments, moments and people from Cairo and Oslo into one frame.