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Lot Essay
The sea, with its creatures, fishermen, boats, and beaches full of people and stories, weaved its way into El-Adawi’s soul. We see it in his artworks, shadows, and creatures in the pitch-black darkness, his soul searching for existence in the folds of that sorrow that we feel in his works.
— Dr. Magda Saad El-Din on Saïd El-Adawi
Born in 1938, Said El Adawi was one of the most talented and understudied Egyptian Painters of his generation. Though his career was tragically cut short by his untimely death in 1973, El Adawi crafted a rich and compelling painterly world within a brief yet prolific span of time.
From the sea to the carriages, markets and vernacular architecture, El Adawi drew inspiration from his everyday encounters in the vibrant city of Alexandria. He captured the rhythms of life and reimagined it through a distinctive visual language that was at once reminiscent of his culture and engaged in dialogue with global modern movements.
The current work, a masterpiece and one of his final creations, stands as a culmination of El Adawi’s artistic genius. Here, we encounter the intuitive abstracted Adawian forms with their curves, circles and triangles that recall the visual textures of his culture and Arabesque motifs. These forms, drawn from years of observing the human figure, the natural world, and the built environment, are intricately interwoven in a dense, multilayered composition that follows the structure and rhythm of eastern tapestries.
El Adawi's masterful use of colour further enhances the spatial dynamics of the work. Layers are clearly articulated, with teal shapes appearing to float at the forefront of the composition as if they are suspended in a kinetic, multidimensional field. The use of bright orange passages further enhances the sense of movement by offering pockets of light in between the forms.
This composition is a testament to El Adawi’s brilliance in weaving his locality within a modern context, achieving his goal of offering the viewer the experience of encountering an Eastern tapestry translated into a modern visual language.
— Dr. Magda Saad El-Din on Saïd El-Adawi
Born in 1938, Said El Adawi was one of the most talented and understudied Egyptian Painters of his generation. Though his career was tragically cut short by his untimely death in 1973, El Adawi crafted a rich and compelling painterly world within a brief yet prolific span of time.
From the sea to the carriages, markets and vernacular architecture, El Adawi drew inspiration from his everyday encounters in the vibrant city of Alexandria. He captured the rhythms of life and reimagined it through a distinctive visual language that was at once reminiscent of his culture and engaged in dialogue with global modern movements.
The current work, a masterpiece and one of his final creations, stands as a culmination of El Adawi’s artistic genius. Here, we encounter the intuitive abstracted Adawian forms with their curves, circles and triangles that recall the visual textures of his culture and Arabesque motifs. These forms, drawn from years of observing the human figure, the natural world, and the built environment, are intricately interwoven in a dense, multilayered composition that follows the structure and rhythm of eastern tapestries.
El Adawi's masterful use of colour further enhances the spatial dynamics of the work. Layers are clearly articulated, with teal shapes appearing to float at the forefront of the composition as if they are suspended in a kinetic, multidimensional field. The use of bright orange passages further enhances the sense of movement by offering pockets of light in between the forms.
This composition is a testament to El Adawi’s brilliance in weaving his locality within a modern context, achieving his goal of offering the viewer the experience of encountering an Eastern tapestry translated into a modern visual language.