Paint Like An Eygptian

Farghali Abdel Hafiz
Hi all,

Are the long, cold winter nights starting to get you down? Feel the need perhaps for some exotic colour therapy? Then look no further than this month’s edition of Canvas (Art and Culture from the Middle East and Arab World) their monthly profile looks at the Egyptian artist Farghali Abdel Hafiz. (Co-founder of the Axis Group, one of the most important art movements in Egypt’s post -Modernist era) With a bold, spontaneous style he happily wallows in a warm, rich and evocative imagery. Using such concerns as his cultures past and present he has developed a series of fresh and multi coloured scenes such as ‘Spiritual Power of Aswan’ – 2006 (pictured above)


I like this artist. Yes, many of his paintings are very much influenced by an assorted mix of western movements...so what! What he manages to do so well is to inject his own highly personalized style into the great mix. Also, It’s just so satisfying to find an eminent artist who’s unafraid to enjoy the ‘very essence of the paint’ who glories not in some bullsh*t manifesto but instead revels in the joy his art can bring. As he writes himself…

“I remain preoccupied with protecting the positive energy of art, steering it towards the ability to impart light, warmth, optimism and confidence.”

And so say all of us!

For more painting by Farghali Abdel Hafiz visit the Zamalek Art Gallery.

Catch you later

Shirley

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