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拍品專文
Adam Henein has established himself in the realms of Arab sculpture on an international level, having a museum dedicated to his oeuvre in Cairo. He was introduced to the glory of sculpture on a school trip to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo when he was eight years old. Born in Egypt in 1929, he is an heir to the legacy of sculptors and builders of the pyramids, obelisks, and embellishers of temples as many members of his family were silversmiths. He sets modernity into the age of old traditions engraved in his homeland, often treating them with a sense of humor. Using stone, granite, bronze and other materials to create his pieces, Henein veils the traditions of Ancient Egypt between these simple, yet dense, materials. Upon finishing his studies at the Fine Arts Academy, he resided between Luxor and Aswan where he explored the territories of mineral landscapes, where it is difficult to differentiate between the wonders of nature and man-made transformations of nature- ‘Everything blends and joins to weave a magic and seamless body,’ (Khazindar, M., Adam Henein. Milan 2005, pp. 9-10). Christie’s is proud to offer for sale this season, The Goat (1964/65), which dates from that period.
During this period he was invited to participate in an exhibition of contemporary Egyptian art at the Musée Galliera in Paris. Although his initial plan involved him travelling from Paris to Mexico, where he wanted to study pre-Colombian art which fascinated him because of their relation to ancient Egyptian art, he ended up spending twenty-five years in the French capital. During these years, he explored museums, encountered many artists, traveled frequently to Italy, and worked zealously. His studio was very cramped, but he still managed to produce some of his greatest works. Being in Paris exposed him to the work of modern sculptors, and although he never associated himself with any of these sculptor’s movements, he was greatly inspired by their liberty to interpret different aspects of the subject.
Upon his return to Egypt, he was appointed by the Minister of Culture to supervise the restoration of the Great Sphinx at Giza. Apart from this being a challenging task, he now had a large studio space that oversees the Pyramids. This space enabled him to truly experiment with different sizes of works, but most importantly, this is where he created his grand nineteen metre-long, granite and bronze ship. Although he was taken aback by the beauty of Giza, he never forgot his roots from Upper Egypt. He returned to Aswan, where he created The Goat, and founded the International Sculpture Symposium of which he is a curator.
The Goat was among the first pieces he created. It was a part of a series of animals he created, among them birds, cats, owls and more. His work exemplifies immutability. By transforming solid materials into otherworldly manifestations through the use of simple lines, he captures the fundamentals of modernist forms. Goats in Ancient Egypt were tantamount with fertility in burgeoning the life energy, ‘vril’, which hoists the serpent. The Egyptians categorise the goat amongst the Gods as the Goat of Mendes because it was said that goats were called ‘Mendes’ in their language. Goats also symbolizes agility in its ability to live in both the ground and the mountain ranges, and in its adeptness to surmount a mountain, it symbolises determination. A male goat stands for vitality, while a female goat signifies nurturing and nourishment.
During this period he was invited to participate in an exhibition of contemporary Egyptian art at the Musée Galliera in Paris. Although his initial plan involved him travelling from Paris to Mexico, where he wanted to study pre-Colombian art which fascinated him because of their relation to ancient Egyptian art, he ended up spending twenty-five years in the French capital. During these years, he explored museums, encountered many artists, traveled frequently to Italy, and worked zealously. His studio was very cramped, but he still managed to produce some of his greatest works. Being in Paris exposed him to the work of modern sculptors, and although he never associated himself with any of these sculptor’s movements, he was greatly inspired by their liberty to interpret different aspects of the subject.
Upon his return to Egypt, he was appointed by the Minister of Culture to supervise the restoration of the Great Sphinx at Giza. Apart from this being a challenging task, he now had a large studio space that oversees the Pyramids. This space enabled him to truly experiment with different sizes of works, but most importantly, this is where he created his grand nineteen metre-long, granite and bronze ship. Although he was taken aback by the beauty of Giza, he never forgot his roots from Upper Egypt. He returned to Aswan, where he created The Goat, and founded the International Sculpture Symposium of which he is a curator.
The Goat was among the first pieces he created. It was a part of a series of animals he created, among them birds, cats, owls and more. His work exemplifies immutability. By transforming solid materials into otherworldly manifestations through the use of simple lines, he captures the fundamentals of modernist forms. Goats in Ancient Egypt were tantamount with fertility in burgeoning the life energy, ‘vril’, which hoists the serpent. The Egyptians categorise the goat amongst the Gods as the Goat of Mendes because it was said that goats were called ‘Mendes’ in their language. Goats also symbolizes agility in its ability to live in both the ground and the mountain ranges, and in its adeptness to surmount a mountain, it symbolises determination. A male goat stands for vitality, while a female goat signifies nurturing and nourishment.