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Zamalek’s Picasso Art Gallery Hosts Exhibitions by Artists Britt Botrous Ghali and Mohamed Ardash

Norwegian artist Britt Botrous Ghali and Egyptian painter Mohamed Ardash's new Exhibitions at the Picasso are sublime.

Staff Writer

Zamalek is Cairo’s premium art hub. It’s home to Egypt’s best Art school, the Ministry of Arts and Culture, and the most important art galleries in the Country. The oldest of those galleries is the Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek, at the corner of Brazil and Hassan Allam St.

The Picasso has been hosting Egyptian and International artists since it opened and this October is no exception.

In the first hall of the Picasso: internationally acclaimed artist Britt Boutros Ghali’s My World is showing.

If you’re familiar with the art scene in Egypt, then you’re familiar with Boutros Gahli’s work. The Iconic Norwegian artist has spent the last forty years of her life in Egypt, taking from Egyptian culture and contributing what she can from her own. Her work is heavily influenced by the European Abstract Expressionist movement, but it has the subtlest hints of the classic Egyptian influence and culture that Middle Eastern gallery-goers are familiar with. Her fusion of Middle Eastern blank and classic Scandinavian blank have made her work a must have for any art collector.Her newest collection My World debuted at the Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek on the 1st of this month. The exhibition illustrates the world she lives in when she isn’t on earth. “These are pictures that create themselves, the paint helps me get away from my ego, and, instead, makes me come in contact with a good energy that wants to be manifested through me,” the artist explains in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper. 

The entire collection is a serious of abstract pieces showing how she sees the world around her. Mostly displaying house hold items like flower bouquets and cloths in a closet, others displayed scenes from stories that she's heard over the years, but none of it will really make sense unless you're familiar with the artist's work. For those who aren't familiar though, the collection is extremely aesthetically pleasing. 

In the other exhibition hall at the Picasso: Contemporary painter Mohamed Ardash’s Crossroads is emblazoned all over the walls.To the artist, this exhibition is about making choices and all that happens when someone is forced to make a decision. “At a crossroad, sometimes life presents present defined paths; change further becomes a clear necessity, other times, life presents multiple paths at a crossroad, that one has to keep revisiting and contemplating,” Ardash further explains.
The entire collection is full of people and angles stopping and wondering about what they really know. The artist both confused and amused his audience with the powerful use of specific colours. For many trying to come up with a story for the piece, it's hard for them because of his constant use of red and gold that could symbolize either greed and anger, or love and greed.

Both galleries will be on display at the Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek until the 20th of October. Be sure not to miss it. For more information check out Picasso Art Gallery’s Facebook page.