Al Masar Gallery: ‘Contemporary Views IV: Figurative Practices’

Arts & Culture

‘Contemporary Views IV’ Exhibition at Al Masar Gallery

- 27/07/2011

Al Masar Gallery: ‘Contemporary Views IV: Figurative Practices’

157 B 26th Of July St., Floor 0
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0227368537 01000670705
11AM-9PM, Fridays by appointment

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Al Masar Gallery: ‘Contemporary Views IV: Figurative Practices’

Located in Zamalek, Al Masar Gallery is celebrating its third anniversary with the fourth part of their ‘Contemporary Views’ group exhibitions. The title of this exhibition is ‘Figurative Practices’, and it showcases the work of more than fifteen Egyptian painters and sculptures with the focus particularly on Egyptians’ daily lives throughout the years.

What is especially interesting about the exhibition is the different styles of the participating artists. There is definitely something for everyone here whether you like pop art, impressionism or modern art. Some of the paintings and sculptures were made as recently as last year, while others date back to the 1950s.

There are several highlights in this extensive art collection. One is the circular painting by Adel El Siwi, titled Homage to the Casual Painters, which depicts an angel of some sort holding da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man while being observed by another figure in the corner. The artist’s 1.70-metre-high painting of iconic Egyptian actress Laila Mourad is also very impressive.

Mounir Canaan’s aquarelle paintings are slightly brighter. The Zoo shows men dressed in galabeyas staring at elephants and the painting Egyptian Labour appears to be a depiction of Gamal Abdel Nasser carrying bricks and sand.

Hany Rashed contributed pop art paintings to the group exhibition. Both painting are very bright; in one of them, Facebook plays a significant part, while in the other called Surrealism, a human body with a dog’s head is surrounded by ants and chickens. Primarily bright colours were used, so the overall painting actually comes across as fun and happy-go-lucky.

One of our favourites is Kareem El Qurity’s People & the Constitution III. At three metres long, it’s also the largest painting on display. It shows the figures of three soldiers with the Egyptian constitution behind them. Also make sure to check out Asmaa El Nawawy‘s work. This young, successful artist’s focus is on painting young women, and four of her pieces are on display here in Al Masar Gallery.

There is an extensive collection of sculptures as well, with the majority of pieces are made by Aswan-based artist Mahmoud El Dowaihy. Most of his sculptures are of animals in abstract forms. There are also animal sculptures by Mohamed Radwan and Ahmed Askalany.

The displayed art pieces at Al Masar Gallery don’t come cheap. One of the cheapest items costs 25,000LE and the prices go up to 100,000LE. However, even if you can’t afford to buy a piece; make sure to visit the exhibition as it gives a great insight into Egypt’s art scene.