Culture

Art D’Egypte and Christie’s organise exhibition of global artists in London

25 May 2023

A viewer is reflected in an artwork.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The Art of Disruption: Art D’Egypte’s Retrospect is an exhibition taking place in the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau in Mayfair, London (May 18 – 25). Hosted in partnership with Christie’s and the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau in London, the show is curated by Art D’Egypte. Christie’s is a British auction house founded in 1766.

Art D’Egypte is an Egyptian Cultural Operator (“Culturvator”) founded by French-Egyptian Art Consultant and Curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar. “We intend to take the world by storm, leading the way in the discourse and movement towards cultural renaissance on an international scale,” says Ghaffar.

The Art of Disruption utilises discursive practices and disruptive modes of interpretation, reflecting on time and timelessness. Showcasing the works of international artists that explore the nature of juxtaposition, it envisions a future that is anchored in a deep knowledge of the past and the present. The exhibition examines how art can act as a mode of disruption, creating a space of interaction and perception. It attempts to conceptualise the artist’s visual language against ever changing societal backdrops. Open for the public, the exhibiting artists are internationally recognised names showcasing their pieces from Forever Is Now and Forever Is Now 2 (hosted by Art D’Egypte) including JR, Jwan Yosef, Sultan bin Fahad, Gisela Colon, Natalie Clark, SpY and Ahmed Farid.

The pieces are being displayed in sand, mirroring the Giza plateau of Egypt. The Plateau is made of limestone and is the site of the Fourth Dynasty Giza pyramid complex, which includes the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Great Sphinx and several cemeteries. JR has the largest art gallery in the world. Thanks to his photographic collage technique, he exhibits his work free of charge on the walls of the whole world – the largest gallery - attracting the attention of those who do not usually go to museums.

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Jwan Yosef is a Syrian-born, Swedish-patriated visual artist who lives and works between London, UK and Los Angeles, CA. He holds an MFA from Central Saint Martins, London, UK, and a BFA from Konstfack University College of Arts, Stockholm, Sweden, where he studied plastic arts.Sultan bin Fahad considers art as a journey between intangible memories and tangible cultures. In his abstract drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations, his central theme and object of concern remains the material culture of his native Saudi Arabia. Through a vocabulary of anthropomorphic geometries, Gisela Colon challenges, deconstructs and expands on a predominantly male-dominated Minimalist canon, creating space for women, Latinx and underrepresented peoples. Her pristine light-activated sculptures are created utilising innovative 21st century designs. Natalie Clark is a classically trained British-American sculptor, collector, art advisor, educator, and children’s book author. Influenced by extensive travels around the world, her work is a global fusion of modern design, ethnographic styles and organic forms found in nature.

SpY is an international public and urban artist whose work consists of transforming spaces into experiences through artistic interventions.The contextual art projects of the Spanish artist are perhaps among the most original and talked-about contributions, in the evolution from urban art to public art.

An artwork in the exhibition.

Ahmed Farid was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1950 where he currently lives and works. He is an Egyptian visual artist with a degree in social sciences and an early career in marketing communication and business. As part of the exhibition, there is also an exhibit of 16 Digital Prints, 50x70cm, from Forever Is Now and Forever Is Now 2. Exhibiting artists are Emilio Ferro, Mohammad Al Farraj, Natalie Clark, Jwan Yosef, SpY, eL Seed, Zeinab AlHashemi, Ahmed Karaly, Therese Antoine, Lorenzo Quinn, Sultan Bin Fahad, Moataz Nasr, Alexander Ponomarev, Gisela Colon and Joao Trevisan.

To date, Art D’Egypte Founder Ghaffar has curated five exhibitions showcasing the works of over 50 Egyptian artists, including Eternal Light at the Egyptian Museum (2017); Nothing Vanishes, Everything Transforms at the Manial Palace (2018); and Reimagined Narratives at four sites on Al-Mu’iz Street in Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage site (2019).

There were also two international editions of Forever Is Now at the Pyramids of Giza plateau in 2021 and 2022. Art D’Egypte was invited to participate in Abu Dhabi Art 2019 and ArtGeneve 2020. “Culturvator was born out of a need to extend the reach of Art D’Egypte and bring all these initiatives together under one umbrella,” says Ghaffar. “It is a multi-disciplinary cultural platform that works with private and public entities to activate spaces for cultural promotion across all creative disciplines, spanning everything from visual arts and film to heritage, design, and music.”

The core of the Culturvator model is to foster and promote new collaborations across the global creative industry with the aim of creating new connections and cultural experiences for a global audience. Ghaffar was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, and her childhood was shaped by her French mother’s archaeologist background. Ghaffar was used to seeing leading art scholars and collectors regularly visiting her family. Her mother used to take her to archaeological sites – which experience strongly impacted Ghaffar’s mind. She learned the art of showcasing “finds”- a knowledge she is putting to good used as Art D’Egypte Founder. Her exposure to different cultures taught her how to present Egypt internationally and the young girl, who grew to become an art advisor helping people build their collections, is now one of the leading art promoters in the world.