CAIRO: Dai Gallery is currently hosting “Faces and Places,” a fine arts exhibition, which showcases the works of a number of talented artists from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The exhibition is located in the Giza suburb of Cairo, and is the result of a three-week workshop held at the gallery.
“Faces and Places” houses the work of over 60 artists, both Egyptian and Saudi Arabian.
It is part of Ismat Dawstashi’s launch of his book “Portrait.” Dawstashi worked as a director for the Ministry of Culture in Egypt, as well as in the museum of Mahmoud Said, one of Egypt’s finest 20th century artists.
Dawstashi studied at the School of Fine Arts in Alexandria, and his work has been showcased in various locations across the Middle East and in Europe.
Dawstashi gave himself the title “Enlightened Dada,” since his surrealist work took inspiration from the early 20th century art movement. Dawstashi’s “Portrait” tackles the issue of the self-portrait and contains over 150 studies of Dawstashi himself, drawn by other artists.
The exhibition lasts three weeks following opening night on Dec. 28.
Talal Zahid, a major sponsor of Saudi and Egyptian fine arts, said the launching of the book was seen as an opportunity to bring together artists of different backgrounds and cultures to exchange experiences, and strengthen the relationship between both nations.
Zahid explained that when a large number of artists are involved in such a project, a competitive spirit is born which pushes each artist to deliver his or her best work.
The exhibition showcases a merging between two cultures. The Saudi artists were inspired by the environment they lived in, and hence delivered works that married both cultures into one.
Artists who took part in the exhibition include Ebada El-Zohairy, Khaled Ameer, Taher Abdel-Azeem and Yara Hassan.
“The pioneering artist Ismat Dawstashi believed that faces just get more beautiful every time we look at them,” Hisham Kandil, chairman of the board of directors of Arab Atelier of Culture and Arts at Dai Gallery, said.
