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Lot Essay
The "Heavy and sad faces are juxtaposed with a derisive smile, smiling faces in an attempt to free them from the weight of the authoritarian realities. (Adel El-Siwi, October 2012)
In his monumental composition entitled The Others, the Egyptian artist Adel El-Siwi depicts elongated faces of a woman and a man facing each other. The imposing characters, deprived of apparent emotions, recall the African totem masks discovered at the Trocadéro Museum in Paris by Pablo Picasso during his Black Period in 1907. Reminiscent of tribal figures, they are delicately ornamented with elegant
yet discrete accessories and noble attributes. Both figures stand still and silent, gazing at a mysterious void and as such seem fairly introverted.
Although depths and volumes are flattened and the characters appear shadowless and almost rigid, their elegance and solemnity is undeniable and a sense of gentleness arises from their expression. The contrasting effect of their majestic presence adds to the enigmatic feeling of the composition. Miniature figures of a man holding a bat are dispersed in the ochre background of the composition and act as ephemeral apparitions, as if fighting unsuccessfully against an absent enemy.
The Cubist appearance of both figures and the large strokes of earthy colours add to the enigmatic silence felt within the work. The Others is an outstanding diptych in which the yellow, orange, green and wooden hues are impeccably combined in a composition that draws on both national traditions and international Modern art. El-Siwi uses colours soaked within the Egyptian landscape, evoking the grey of the desert and the city, as the background for the faces is defined in a pure bright colour to draw the attention of the viewer. He attempts to push the boundaries of our imagination through a poetic and enchanting, yet mysterious, rendition of seemingly powerful figures and metaphorically alludes to what is happening around him, in the city where he lives.
Adel El-Siwi is at the forefront of the contemporary Egyptian art scene today. His works are featured in important international collections and the artist was invited to exhibit in the Egyptian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1997 and more recently in 2009.
In his monumental composition entitled The Others, the Egyptian artist Adel El-Siwi depicts elongated faces of a woman and a man facing each other. The imposing characters, deprived of apparent emotions, recall the African totem masks discovered at the Trocadéro Museum in Paris by Pablo Picasso during his Black Period in 1907. Reminiscent of tribal figures, they are delicately ornamented with elegant
yet discrete accessories and noble attributes. Both figures stand still and silent, gazing at a mysterious void and as such seem fairly introverted.
Although depths and volumes are flattened and the characters appear shadowless and almost rigid, their elegance and solemnity is undeniable and a sense of gentleness arises from their expression. The contrasting effect of their majestic presence adds to the enigmatic feeling of the composition. Miniature figures of a man holding a bat are dispersed in the ochre background of the composition and act as ephemeral apparitions, as if fighting unsuccessfully against an absent enemy.
The Cubist appearance of both figures and the large strokes of earthy colours add to the enigmatic silence felt within the work. The Others is an outstanding diptych in which the yellow, orange, green and wooden hues are impeccably combined in a composition that draws on both national traditions and international Modern art. El-Siwi uses colours soaked within the Egyptian landscape, evoking the grey of the desert and the city, as the background for the faces is defined in a pure bright colour to draw the attention of the viewer. He attempts to push the boundaries of our imagination through a poetic and enchanting, yet mysterious, rendition of seemingly powerful figures and metaphorically alludes to what is happening around him, in the city where he lives.
Adel El-Siwi is at the forefront of the contemporary Egyptian art scene today. His works are featured in important international collections and the artist was invited to exhibit in the Egyptian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1997 and more recently in 2009.