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CAIRO RISING OR ALEXANDRA’S CHOICE

The almost photochromic paintings of ‘real’ people in their own space stand by more amorphous figures. These last, an echo of some of Picasso’s sketches, the lines of form distorted and distended as though in a fairground mirror.

These are the magic 48, the number of paintings displayed at B21’s newly opened gallery opposite Spinney’s warehouses on Al Quoz. Opened on February 8, the 48byfourEgyptians art exhibition is exactly what it says but the name underplays the mix and vibrancy of styles on display.

‘A few months ago a friend put me in touch with Karim Francis who has two galleries in Cairo. I expected to see everything organised and on display but all the paintings were in folders so we spread them all over the floor. Out of the 30 artists, I chose four and took almost everything available that they had done,’ says curator Alexandra d’Ursel.

As Alexandra would agree, the word ‘curator’ is a tag assumed by many who are the guardians of such collections but who, in reality, are exhibition organisers. However, that is not to denigrate her efforts for within those is a passion and a need to share a group of painters whose work she loves.

‘You see a picture, you have a passion for it and you just want to show it to people. It’s a very strong feeling that you have for a painting that is purely instinctive. That first impression is so powerful and you choose on the basis of those impressions. I was really in love with some of these and I felt that I could achieve a striking effect with them. Of course, it is totally what I like but I want you to like them as well.’

Alexandra pauses to look at some of the paintings that, under pressure, she concedes are her favourites. These are the abstracts of Hazem Taha Hussein.

‘It’s tough to choose because there are so many that I like. But these, because they are beautiful and a little bit tormented at the same time. What he does is very powerful and it really appeals to me.’

Mohamad Abla’s figures have a slightly Lowry-esque feel to them; little figures in the daily rut, frozen in time.

‘It’s like he’s telling a story about people doing the same thing over and over again. Abla takes an everyday scene and turns it into a piece of art.’

The more symbolic figures delineated in Hani Rached’s works share a tenuous link with Abla’s: Rached left his work in advertising to become Abla’s apprentice. Ut there the connection ceases for Rached has a style and technique that is all his own.

‘He draws on pieces of glass, adds colour and then transfers the images onto paper,’ explains Alexandra. ‘They’re mono prints which tend to use especially pink and green which apparently is reflected in a lot of Egyptian art.’

And the last pieces are the three faces of Karem Mahrous. Drawn from the depths of an inventive mind, they combine reality with an almost cartoon like quality. From the violent to the troubled to the ‘quite pop and funky’, these are faces that definitely are in your face.

So these are Alexandra’s choices but are they yours? Her take?

‘Come and see the show. You’ll love it!’