Hisham El Zeiny flirts with earth colors in new exhibit
Artist Hisham El Zeiny’s new paintings, at the Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art in Downtown Cairo, offer the viewer a picturesque journey into the world of colors, specifically, earth tones which perfectly capture the essence of the Egyptian setting.
The greys, beiges and pinks on the canvases are all the natural colors of Cairo.
“I come up on the roof of my house and I just take prints from the floor, he explains.
Earth colors refer to the pigments found in natural minerals and are often used in décor because of their warmth, beauty and neutrality.
But El Zeiny’s pieces are not only about colors; his individuality shines through in each painting, and it is difficult to find a common theme between them. Previously El Zeiny s artwork came together around a certain concept. In this exhibit he let go of heavy restrictions and decided that it would be material oriented.
“Either I influence the subject and discover material for it, or the material speaks and I discover, he says. El Zeiny clearly opted for the latter.
The material theme here is a mixed media collage style of work. The paintings come in all sizes, and are heavily textured with layers of materials from newspapers to sand, adding to the raw natural feel of his art.
“It’s not work on paper its work with paper, he says.
Nevertheless, he does adhere to certain elements of his previous – his traditional techniques using textile incorporated are easily detected.
The substance of the works is not to be ignored. Although there is not one general theme, there are many diverse ideas.
A few of the paintings have faded in shapes of chairs in different positions. His depiction of chairs as symbols of opposition constantly in flux began during his last exhibition around the time of December 2005’s parliamentary elections.
At the same time he sees the chair as a “cultural monuments in a traditional place like an ahwa (coffee shop) where locals discuss politics and social issues. So in a sense it reflects an Egyptian person.
The newest characters to feature in El Zeiny’s art are themselves as old as time.
“I was playing with a new technique, an ancient Egyptian one, and these faces came up so I put them into a modern context, he explains.
Although the art work does not look ancient Egyptian, the traces of the faces within do.
“It is also playing off the aspect of cliché, kitsch or replica and how to reinterpret Egyptian art in a way that can be appealing, he says.
It may come as somewhat of a surprise to art lovers to discover that El Zeiny’s first passion was architecture, not exhibition art.
“I am originally an architect so I have this very strong feeling of the interior of the place which decorates consciousness.’
Although it was his original field, El Zeiny has substituted architecture with art for good. He started in the 1980s specifically focusing on Vernacular architecture, a term used to categorize a method of construction which uses locally available resources to address local needs.
It tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists.
Indeed, the concept of Vernacular architecture is apparent in his art.
After this type of architecture became a façade of the elitist lifestyle in the 1990s, El Zeiny withdrew to pursue other interests – art.
“I wanted a medium that I am able to control myself and become independent in the market which is not connected with any clients telling me what to do or what not to do, he says.
Definitely, art is freedom.
Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art8, Champollion St. – Downtown CairoThe exhibition will continue until April 12 2007.11 am – 8 pm daily except Friday(02) 578 44 94, (010) 1704554
