Art Alert: Egyptian painter Bahgoury pays tribute to music icon Umm Kolthoum

Ahram Online, Wednesday 24 Apr 2013

Prominent Egyptian painter Georges Bahgoury pays tribute to music icon Umm Kolthoum in his latest collection on exhibition at Mashrabia Gallery until 5 May

Painting of musical icon Omm Kolthoum by Bahgoury. (Photo: Mashrabia Gallery)
Painting of musical icon Omm Kolthoum by Bahgoury. (Photo: Mashrabia Gallery)

Prominent contemporary artist Georges Bahgoury displays a series of paintings of iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kolthoum in his latest solo exhibition at downtown Cairo’s Mashrabia Gallery.

Born in 1932, Bahgoury is one of the hallmarks of Egypt’s modern art scene. After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo in 1955, Bahgoury moved to Paris and has been living between the two cities ever since.

Famed for his politically charged caricatures published in local press, including Ros Al-Youssef, the prolific artist has also dabbled with a broad spectrum of art forms, such as painting, drawing, sketching, engraving, sculpture, as well as literature and cinema.

Deeply influenced by Pablo Picasso, Bahgoury’s compositions are always intriguing; a cubist style and a bright, compelling palette pervade his body of work.

Dubbed Kawkab Al-Sharq (Star of the East), Umm Kolthoum has left an indelible mark on Arab culture. Many Egyptian artists have been influenced by her, not merely as a musical maverick, but as an emblem of a progressive, soulful time in Egypt’s modern history, the 1950s and 1960s. She has appeared on the canvases of other contemporary artists, including Khaled Hafez and Chant Avedissian.

Programme:
The exhibition runs until 5 May
Mashrabia Gallery, Champollion Street, Downtown, Cairo

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