“Soul”, an exhibition of paintings by Ahmed El-Kutt, is currently on show at Samah art gallery. 

“I always search for the expressive state of woman, especially in portraits conveying a multiplicity of looks. Woman is a concept that has its sanctity for me. She is my mother, my wife, my sister, and she is life, with which other elements such as music and animals can be integrated in a metaphysical image,” El-Kutt says.

“The search for loyalty, honesty, and love is clear in my work. With blurred looks, using different colour treatments, using acrylic and charcoal, as a multi-media approach,” he added, “I used the gold leaf on most of the portraits in my works, where the golden colour has always symbolised, since ancient times, everything that is elegant, precious, and valuable. In portraiture, I was interested in the expressive register, and distinguished each work from the other with a different background to clarify it.”

The exhibition will remain on view until 26 August.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 August, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly