If you spot a woman, sketchbook in hand, studiously watching the dancers rehearsing at the Cairo Opera House, chances are it s Rana Chalabi.
“Catching the movement while they’re moving, capturing a moment is very difficult, the artist told The Daily Star Egypt. And she has succeeded.
Her sketches were transformed into a series of large, colorful, vivid works now hanging on Safar Khan gallery’s walls. The canvases captured dancers in motion, their bright costumes and delicate veils giving form to their movement.
“I feel it’s quite happy, joyful and very decorative, Chalabi described her latest collection. “It’s totally different from what I [usually] do.
Female dancers sway and twirl with an easy, but learned, elegance. The black outline strokes of the artist’s brush, give definition to their dynamism. Their braids swing in opposite direction of their bodies. Their dresses and veils are delicately embroidered with touches of color, never overshadowing the movement.
In some, only a few brush strokes emphasized the strength of the male dancers’ stomping, drawing attention to the strength of their movement. One can almost hear the “thud as knees hit the ground, their bellowing black trousers a soft contrast to their stronger movements.
The most captivating pieces of the collection, without a doubt, are the bold colored canvases. Dreamlike pale figures emerge from green, red or orange backgrounds. The backdrop printed with a repeated pattern applied by woodblock, giving them a rich texture. This evolved from her earlier pieces, the artist noted, as she began to focus on adding background to the dancing figures.
The faces are a blur. “When you’re dancing, Chalabi explained, “people don’t see your face. If I start going into details it becomes stiff.
Safar Khan initially approached Chalabi about exhibiting a collection of watercolors. When they visited her studio, they inadvertently caught a glimpse of a commission she was working on for a Saudi client. The gallery immediately decided to include her latest work in the exhibition.
“Rana [Chalabi] has the ability to catch the movement of any dance in very few lines. and at the same time to add all the minute details of their costumes, explained Sherwet Shafie, owner and art dealer of Safar Khan Gallery.
Chalabi is a self-taught artist. She studied architecture at The American University in Beirut and continued her studies in Islamic Art and Architecture at The American University in Cairo. But she always painted.
She considers her lack of formal training a “mixed blessing. As an artist, she had the chance to try out new things and develop her own technique. Her constant experimentation with technique explains the eclecticism of her work.
Chalabi has a passion for Japanese ink and has produced a series of work using traditional Japanese strokes to create Arabic calligraphy. Her captivation with dance and movement is evident in earlier ink drawings of whirling dervishes. Her watercolors, a series of impressions of Egypt, incorporate the same talent for drawing lines, but include texture and layers through the use of colors.
But it’s still hard to classify her work.
“I like to experiment, Chalabi said with a smile. “It’s boring to be stuck with one thing for the rest of your life.
Her current exhibition at Safar Khan is a hit. “You can’t imagine how successful it’s been, Shafie said.
Around 90 percent of the collection was sold with works ranging in price from LE 4,000 for the smaller watercolors to LE 15,000 for the larger oil canvases.
But Shafie acknowledges that Chalabi has yet to become a well-known name in art circles, but feels that collectors are starting to recognize her uniqueness. When an artist is honest in his work, as she feels Chalabi is, “he captures the attention of the buyer, Shafie explained.
Chalabi considers herself fortunate to be an artist. “It’s my passion. I don’t know if it’s my career. I wake up every morning and think how lucky I am. I can do it 24 hours a day.
Rana ChalabiSafar Khan6 Brazil St., Zamalek, CairoTel: (012) 312 7002www.safarkhan.comOpening hours: Mon-Sat, 10 am-2 pm & 5-9 pmExhibition runs until May 22
