It included 42 artworks by pioneers of contemporary art: International painter Shalimar Sharbatly inaugurates “Ajyal” exhibition at “Hala Art Gallery” in Cairo

Cairo: September 2021

The Saudi painter Shalimar Sharbatly accompanied by the artist Dr. Hala Abdel Qader and a group of artists, intellectuals, critics and fans of contemporary art, inaugurated the “Ajyal” exhibition, which is currently being held at the “Hala Art Gallery” in Nasr City, Cairo. The artworks of 38 pioneers, late, senior and young Egyptian contemporary artists are being displayed in the exhibition which opened on Monday evening, September 27^thand continuing for two weeks. The exhibit included 42 paintings by the participating artists who contributed to the renaissance of the contemporary movement in Egypt and the Arab world. Shalimar toured around the exhibition hall and listened to the organizers and the participating artists explain the meanings, symbols and feelings of each painting and artwork that showcase the artist’s imagination and thought process.

In a statement on the opening ceremony, painter Shalimar Sharbatly stressed the importance of this distinguished artistic event and expressed her happiness for inaugurating this great exhibition. She said: “it is an honor for me as a Saudi contemporary artist to inaugurate this exhibition, which includes 42 artworks by 38 artists from the pioneers of Egyptian contemporary art”. She praised the artistic and cultural renaissance that the Arab Republic of Egypt is witnessing in light of the comprehensive development process led by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. At the conclusion of her statement, she thanked the contemporary artist Hala Abdel Qader for her pioneering efforts in supporting the Egyptian and Arab artistic movement.

From her end, the owner and director of the “Hala Art Galler” artist Hala Abdel Qader stated: “The river of art in Egypt is flowing and never-ending, starting from the pioneering generation to the middle generation and passing through the younger generation. Each generation has its own characteristics and I wanted to present in the first exhibition of the season, models from every generation. From the post-pioneering generation, there are works by Engie Aflatoun, Salah Taher, Omar Al-Najdi, Zakaria El-Ziny, Sayed Abdel-Rasoul, Jamal Qutb, George Bahgory and Zahran Salama. Then from the middle generation there’s Farghali Abdel Hafeez, Mahmoud Abul-Azm, Helmy Al-Tuni, Hassan Rashid, Salah Al-Meligy and Hassan Al-Sharq, and from the younger generation Atef Ahmed, Muhammad Abd al-Hadi and Taqi Amr.

The artist added: “We are fortunate to gather this number of pioneers of contemporary art in Egypt who had, and still have, great influence in enriching the contemporary arts movement”. Noting that the “Ajyal” exhibition summarizes the march of the Egyptian contemporary movement and achieves richness, depth and comprehensiveness for its pioneers. She also added that the exhibition will be followed by a number of personal and group exhibitions. At the conclusion of her statement, she expressed her deep gratitude to the international Saudi contemporary painter Shalimar Sharbatly for her pioneering role in supporting and enriching the contemporary movement in Egypt and the Arab world.

It is worth noting that the artists whose works are featured in the “Ajyal” exhibition are: Engie Aflatoun, Salah Taher, Omar Al-Najdi, Jamal Qutb, George Bahgory, Atiyat Al-Sayed, Abdel Ghaffar Shadid, Salma Abdel Aziz, Zahran Salama, Hussein Al-Jabali, Farghali Abdel Hafeez, Shaker El-Madawy, Sayed Abdel-Rasoul, Sabri Abdel-Ghani, Hassan Rashid, Mahmoud Abu Al-Azm, Evelyn Asham Allah, Hegazy, Awad El-Shimy, Salah El-Meligy, Zakaria El-Ziny, Helmy El-Tuni, Mohsen Mito, Ismail Sami, Hassan Al-Sharq, Salah Anani, Imad Rizk, Osama Omran, Fares Ahmed, Assem Abdel-Fattah, Omar Al-Fayoumi and Muhammad Al-Tarawi, Mustafa Mishaal, Atef Ahmed, Muhammad Abd al-Hadi, Mamdouh al-Qusifi, Muhammad Ghaleb and Taqi Amr.