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Lot Essay
Henein’s paintings are an emblem of durability, created by using natural pigments, Arabic gum applied with colours on papyrus paper, and firmly rooted in the ancestral techniques of ancient Egypt. His works are arguably seen as another essence of his sculptures in so that their materials and pigments are blended, shaped and applied. With its worn textures it has the presence of an ageless fresco painting, resonating with the ancient mural pharaonic paintings, producing a distinct body of work that is both coherent and elegant.
The present work is both childlike in its imagery and mature in its technique, depicting a scene animated with inner movement yet also whose textures and materials provide a sense of stability and immobility.
The train is depicted in motion, with its billowing smoke and is composed of organic, accurately defined shapes. The lightness of the texture makes it seem as if the train is composed of floating blocks suspended in the air. Fusing these shapes within a coherent manner, and depicting such a simple scene, this work could invariably be an illustration for a children’s book, given much to the playful character of the artist himself.
One of the most accomplished sculptors and painters from Egypt, Adam Henein has the ability to conciliate these two fields and produce works that are quintessentially Egyptian in their form and material. Conjuring themes of crossing, both in history and in one’s own maturation from childhood to adult, this present work is emotionally charged and deeply evocative of a nostalgia for the longed past and the continuity of his oeuvre since the early 1950s. His distinct pictorial technique is redolent with Cubist influences, infusing large colour blocs of warm tones with ancient techniques that allow his subjects to essentially float within the composition, in part for his ability to juxtapose ‘heaviness with grace.’
The present work is both childlike in its imagery and mature in its technique, depicting a scene animated with inner movement yet also whose textures and materials provide a sense of stability and immobility.
The train is depicted in motion, with its billowing smoke and is composed of organic, accurately defined shapes. The lightness of the texture makes it seem as if the train is composed of floating blocks suspended in the air. Fusing these shapes within a coherent manner, and depicting such a simple scene, this work could invariably be an illustration for a children’s book, given much to the playful character of the artist himself.
One of the most accomplished sculptors and painters from Egypt, Adam Henein has the ability to conciliate these two fields and produce works that are quintessentially Egyptian in their form and material. Conjuring themes of crossing, both in history and in one’s own maturation from childhood to adult, this present work is emotionally charged and deeply evocative of a nostalgia for the longed past and the continuity of his oeuvre since the early 1950s. His distinct pictorial technique is redolent with Cubist influences, infusing large colour blocs of warm tones with ancient techniques that allow his subjects to essentially float within the composition, in part for his ability to juxtapose ‘heaviness with grace.’