Zamalek Art Gallery is currently hosting celebrated Egyptian artist Nazli Madkour
in a delightful tango of colors and textures. Her "Foliage
Revisited" (3awdat
3ashtaar
or "The Return of Ishtar", in Arabic) evokes the Goddess of
Fertility "Ishtar", a symbol of rebirth and renewal in
flamboyant mixed media works of acrylic and oil.
"I
like to present my work and give the latest update on it,"
Madkour explains. She speaks eloquently about her conception of
painting in the exhibition booklet: "Largely inspired by
nature... [the work] focuses on elaborating an aesthetic language and
on revealing a state of mind, rather than scanning a particular
subject,” she writes. “Once the process of execution starts, it
progresses almost organically, going through a relentless process of
exploration, experimentation and investigation. Consequently, this
unfolds the medium's hidden possibilities of generating new meanings
and of disclosing underlying layers and structures achieved through
subtle manipulation of texture, line and color,” she continues.
"I
work directly on canvas or paper, without a preconceived plan,"
says Madkour. She paints organically, adding elements of color and
texture as she goes. She never knows what a painting will look like
when she begins, instead, it evolves organically as she works."Most
of these paintings were something else to begin with," she
muses. "The painting grows in an organic manner, like a tree,
and I cannot predict in which direction it will go --- it's almost a
biological process. In this way, there are a lot of surprises, and
that's what keeps it interesting and keeps me evolving as an artist."
“There
is always a sort of dialogue between you and the canvas (“7iwar ma3
al 3amal”); you make decisions every moment on what color to go
for, which direction to take and you're trying to maintain a balance.
It's gratifying when people identify with my work, but it's not my
main aim. The target is to feel good about what you're producing. You
are always, as an artist, between doubt and certainty about your
work, always between loving and disapproving of the outcome.”
This
exhibition is a continuation of her work that started 5 years ago, an
exploration of foliage and nature reborn, as the title of the
exhibition indicates. Madkour's preoccupation with the themes of
fertility and rebirth, natural cycles are associated with the
Mesopotamian mythological figure of Ishtar, Goddess of fertility,
spring and renewal. Her work has two main channels: one is Women, as
shown in her 2012 exhibition at Safar Khan Gallery. The other channel
is Nature. All are new works, executed over the past two and a half
years.
The
new paintings have gained in complexity over the enchanting
simplicity of the collection of floral-inspired paintings presented
in Spring 2011 at Ofoq Gallery. Due to the political upheaval at the
time, the exhibition did not receive due attention. The new works
have lost the airiness and expansive, breezy feel of the first;
instead, they have a more complex, richer quality, and are still
extremely appealing to the eye and soothing to the soul. The
spontaneity of the process still gives the feeling of genuineness and
personal intimacy that she so prizes. Maybe that's because of the way
the painter works. Isolated in her studio where no one disturbs her,
she describes the process as a highly personal experience, almost
intimate, recoiling at my suggestion of painting murals: “I
couldn't do that! That would be too public.”
It's
important to Madkour to keep in touch with what's happening on the
international scene of visual art. "This [art] is my language. I
like to hear it and to use it, and I love to stay in tune with what
is new and what is going on out there. More and more now, I feel more
in tune with the East in terms of coloring, rhythm, form and balance.
I just returned from India, where I met with artists and curators,
visited galleries, etc.. Some critics have tried to establish a link
between her work and that of the Mexican artist Frida Khalo. Of that,
she says that the common thread she sees is the Earth as an important
element. The contemporary painters that she likes most include Per
Kirkeby, Cy Twombly and Kiefer.
She
finds inspiration in anything and everything: "The artist is
like a sponge and what comes out depends on the many things she
imbibes. My work is an internal concoction of all that I come across;
some paintings have more gender elements, others are more floral, it
depends.” "So how do you know when a painting is finished?"
I venture. "Ah, that is the million dollar question!!" she
smiles meaningfully, adding: “I don't think a painting is ever
finished. I just take some distance and come back fresh to see
whether I can leave it at that. As it is a dialogue, an artist can
sometimes become mesmerized esthetically with an element in the
painting and go down a route that later turns out to be not right. I
have sometimes ruined paintings that way," she says with a calm
detachment that betrays no regret.
A
rare treat, this latest collection by Nazli Madkour is not to be
missed! Full of movement and dynamism, replete with the nurturing
positive energy of nature in full bloom, it is a breath of fresh air
desperately needed in these most trying of times.
The
exhibition goes on till June 4th.
