She has Participated in a number of solo exhibitions, including “Awel el-Tariq” at Gezira Art Centre in 2014, “Emraa Ala Al-Arsh” at Cordoba Art Gallery in 2017 and “Sehr Al-Sharq” at Duroub Gallery in 2018. Her group exhibitions have included “Black and White Salon” at Gezira Art Centre and Bibliotheca Alexandrina for three consecutive editions in 2010, 2013 & 2017 along with “Wogouh” & “Nahr Al-Hayah” at Ahmed Shawki Museum in 2017 and 2018, “Al-Mahrousa” at Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum in 2017 and others.
Asmaa participated in various contests, namely UNESCO’s Art Contest to illustrate the importance of the Nile in 2005. She also received the Fatma Rifaat Award in 2012 and 2013 and the Youth Salon Award in 2010 and 2011. In addition to the Acquisition Award from CIB Bank and the honorary painting for the Summer Scholarship Competition at the Florence Academy of Arts in 2016.
Her work is part of The Museum of Modern Art collection, among others.
Asmaa Magdi Khouri is an Egyptian Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1988. Her work was featured in an exhibition at the Ubuntu Art Gallery.
A journey to “Oriental Charm”
Youssra el-Sharkawy
In a wide, white gallery in downtown Cairo, an Egyptian artist expresses the deeper meaning of the magic of the East through oil paintings. With women in different poses dressed in old Arab costumes, the artist Asmaa Khouri takes visitors to another era where beauty and tranquility reigned supreme.
“I don’t like the era in which I live. I want to live in a calmer era. That’s why I reflect this in my paintings,” Khouri told The Egyptian Gazette.
In her latest exhibition, Sehr el-Sharq, (Oriental Charm), which showcases 35 of her paintings, Khouri travels back to old times when women wore sherwals and colourful scarves.
“If we look at the architecture and fashion of nowadays we find chaos. But, if we look back at the old architecture we find it was much better. The interior design was full of detail. And fashion and fashion accessories were lovely,” Khouri, 30, said.
Art allows her to travel in time and see – through her imagination – people and their lives and then create on canvas those old times that she would have preferred to live in. In each of her exhibitions, Khouri presents a different journey. Her 2017 solo exhibition entitled, “Imraa Alla el-A’rsh” (A woman on the Throne) featured queens from Islamic and Pharaonic eras.
“I imagined the death of Sultana Shajar al-Durr (the first woman to rule Egypt in the Islamic era during the Middle Ages). I captured it in a painting. I also imagined Bilquais, the Queen of Sheba, when she received King Solomon’s message,” she said.
“In this exhibition, I go on another journey”.
Being a woman, Khouri chose to feature women in most of her paintings in her latest exhibition. She shows their different moods which also represent the feelings she experienced herself in those past times.
“When I paint a woman, this makes me express myself better,” said Khouri, who spent a year preparing for her current exhibition.
In her painting entitled “Jasmine and the Magic Lamp”, Khouri painted a beautiful woman dressed in Arab style and holding Aladin’s famous Magic lamp. “I imitated a painting in the book, ‘Arabian Nights’. I painted this scene because I like imaginary characters. I wanted to paint it as I imagined in my mind,” she explained.
Immersed completely in her work, Khouri bought some old accessories and costumes and brought old times back to life on her canvas. “I conjured up paintings from the music of orientalists like the Russian composer, Tchaikovsky, and from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Scheherazade’. This music takes me to another era,” she said. Besides her vivid paintings of women, the artist also included some paintings of flowers in her exhibition.
“Flowers represent feelings. Like humans, they wake up, grow, become mature and fade. Each flower has a different character. So when I do a composition of flowers I feel that this creates a kind of conversation,” she explained.
The exhibition, which is Khouri’s fourth solo exhibition, is being held in the Doroub Art Gallery which every year hosts exhibitions for pioneer artists, both middle aged and young.
“What we are keen on is showing quality art. No matter what the age of the artist, the quality of his art is what counts,” Sawsan Salem, Director of the exhibition, told The Gazette. Salem said that Khouri showed the Gallery one of her paintings years ago and it was accepted for display due to her outstanding talent it illustrated.
“Although she is young she is very talented. Her first painting to be displayed here was sold as soon as it was hung on the gallery wall. She was born big,” Salem said. For Khouri, art is not only a hobby and profession. It is a tool by which she creates a better world. By painting simple figurative paintings far from abstract or complicated works she makes ordinary people love her art.
“All that I want to do is to bring ordinary people – not critics or artists – back to plastic art,” she said. “Oriental Charm” is on show in the Isis building, Latin America Street, Garden City, Cairo. Tel: 27962881. The exhibition runs until November 4.
via: The Egyptian Gazette Newspaper
Asmaa Magdi Khoury: Born in Cairo 1988 – B.A. in Applied Arts 2011, with a “very good” grade.
Solo Exhibition:
- “On the way” at El Gezira art center, 2014
- “Sofitel Hotel”, 2014
- “Woman on the throne” at Cordoba Gallery , 2017,
- “Oriental charm” at Duroub gallery 2018
Group exhibitions:
- “El Saway Cultural Wheel” in 2008 & 2009
- “Salon White & Black 2nd & 3rd ‘, year 2010, year 2013 at “El Gezira Art Center” and “Library of Alexandria”,
- “Salama’s Gallery”,
- “duroub gallery ”,
- “Cordoba Gallery”,
- “Samah Gallery” ,
- “Easel and Camera Gallery”,
- “Nadim’s Gallery”,
- “Damas Home”
- “Eklego”,
- “Falak”,
- ” WAW Design” Rotary Egypt & SODIC construction Project.
- The “Mahrousa” exhibition at Mahmoud Mukhtar ‘s Museum 2017,
- The” Portrait” exhibition at Ahmed Shawky’s Museum ,
- ”Different melodies” at Ubuntu gallery
Competitions:
- UNESCO drawing competition to show the importance of the river “Nile” & was published in the “AEO for youth” book, 2005
- “Creative Awards” of the British Council & achieved the Sixth place, 2006
- “Al Tala’a” Competition 2009,2010 second place in 2011 &won “Fatma Refa’at” prize in 2012 & 2013
- “Saloon of youth” 2010, 2011 (An acquisition prize from CIB bank), 2012 & 2013
- Third place in a competition organized by “Salama’s Gallery”
- “Art Fellowship” first place year 2015
- “Florence academy of Art” summer scholarship list of Honor, year 2016.
- The Egyptian Modern Art museum purchased one of my oil paintings, year 2017.
Illustrator at “Sabah El Kheir” weekly magazine. Member of Cairo’s Salon jury, year 2018.
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
Asmaa M. Khoury Painting
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Asmaa M Khoury Facebook Page
Youssra el-Sharkawy
via: ubuntuartgallery.com