The Picasso gallery in Zamalek has two exhibitions of painting on: “Love over Fear” bycontemporary artistDeena Fadel, and a selection of works by the legendary Tahia Halim (1919-2003).

Halimbecame a professional artist in the 1930s, making painting her full-time career. She was one of the pioneers of the Modern Expressive Movement in Egyptian art in the 1960s.

Born in Sudan, where her family lived, she was educated inside the Royal Palace of Cairo, where she was raised, her father being a courter of King Fouad I’s.

Her folkloric images of Egypt depict boats on the Nile, Sudanese women, and domestic life. Deeply influenced by ancient Egyptian aesthetics, Halim’s work – which was shown at the Venice Biennale and acquired by the Guggenheim Museum – merges expressionistic paint handling with a unique cultural identity. It is also on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art Egyptian in Cairo, the Fine Arts Museum in Alexandria, the Modern Art Museum in Stockholm and at embassies and private collections worldwide.

The exhibition continues until 19 December. 

*A version of this article appears in print in the 12 December, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.