GEORGE FIKRY IBRAHIM
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Born: Born in Heliopolis , Cairo
Lives: CAIRO - EGYPT
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Graduated from Art Education Faculty , ( Helwan University )Grade honors, 1986 .
- Appointed demonstrator at Art Education Faculty ( Helwan University ) in 1987,and got a Master degree in Art Education in 1994 .
- Appointed Assistant Instructor at the department of Art Education Sciences.
- Got the Doctorate degree in art education philosophy in 2000.
- Appointed an instructor at the department of Art Education Sciences.
- Works as a professor at the faculty of art education , Helwan Universty
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Participated in more than 50 private and public exhibitions inside and outside Egypt .
A selection of some individual exhibitions :
1994 Earth Mythology ( Zamalek Arts complex ).
1996 Myth sequences ( Zamalek Arts complex ).
1997 Chamber Drawings ( Cairo Atelier ).
1999 Chamber Drawings ( Zamalek Arts complex ).
2001 Chamber Drawings ( Zamalek Arts complex).
2002 The Egyptian Academy in Rome.
2003 Chamber Drawings sequences ( Zamalek Arts Complex ).
2005 Exhibition at fine Arts Albertini Academy in Torino Italy.
2007 Exhibition in American Uinversity in Cairo 2007
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1989 1995 Pioneers Exhibition.
1989 Youth Salon (the sector of fine art) Cairo Egypt.
1997 2003 The National Exhibition for fine arts Cairo Egypt.
1998 2004 Little Works salon Cairo Egypt.
1993 1995 Homeland x 1 Society Exhibition Cairo Egypt.
1995 Contemporary Egyptian Art Exhibition ( Vienna ).
1997 Dream Mythology ( Italian Cultural Center ).
1997 Contemporary Egyptian Art Exhibition ( Pakistan ).
1999 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition ( Jordan).
1999 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition ( Qatar ).
2001 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition ( Tunisia).
2000 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition ( Sharjah).
2000 Commission of contemporary Egyptian Art Exhibition in the United Arab Emirates Where I proposed and theorized The title for this exhibition: " Creative dialogue paradoxes of contemporary Egyptian art at the beginning of the 21st century".
2002 Silver Jubilee Exhibition ( celebrating the 25th anniversary of Arts Complex ) at Zamalek.
2004 First International Alexandria Biennale for Artist's Book.
2004 Exhibition of "Salon Stars" parallel to the sixth youth Salon in which winners of the different salon prizes are honored.
2004 Exhibition of contemporary Egyptian Art ( Germany ) accompanying Frankfurt International Book Fair.
2005 Contemporary Egyptian and Korean Art Exhibition entitled "Art and soul" at Opera House Arts Palace.
2005 Exhibition at the Egyptian Cultural Center in Rome.
2005 Nominated by Ministry of Culture and Faculty of art Education ( Helwan University ) to participate in the 29th national exhibition in commemoration of 100 Years of the Egyptian plastic arts movement journey ( Arts Palace Art Education Faculty ) .
2006 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition ( Bosnia & Herzegovina).
2006 Participation in the 10th International Cairo Biennale.
2007 International Venice Biennale (52 Round Season), Egyptian Wing.
2007 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition (Spain Alicante).
2007 Contemporary Egyptian Art exhibition (Bonn Germany).
2007 El Arousa Exhibition Ahmed Shawki museum.
2008 8th Biennale of African Contemporary art (Dakar Senegal).
2009 Commissaire of the 20th youth Salon session (the freedom of the creativity between contemporary complex (Cairo Egypt) .
2009 Masterpieces collective, Zamalek Art Gallery Egypt.
2009 IFA Galerie Berlin Stuttgart.
2009 All Art Now 1st International Video Art Festival Syria.
2009 Signs: Contemporary Arab Art Sundaram Tagore Gallery New York.
2012 CONTEMPORARY CALLIGRAPHY FROM THE MIDDLE EAS Sundaram Tagore Gallery -Hong Kong.
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t2003 Chamber Drawings sequences ( Zamalek Arts Complex ).Catalogue
the 10th Cairo International Biennial Catalogue
the 52nd Venice Biennial 2007 Catalogue
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Drawing Prize : The 5th Cairo International Bieannial .
Drawing Prize : The 5th,6th and 8th Youth Arts Saloon ( Ministry Of Culture).
First Prize for the 10th Cairo International Biennial.
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Participation in The 10th Cairo International Bieannial , December 2006.
Participated in the 52nd Venice Biennial 2007.
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Writing on walls
Until 2 November the American University in Cairo's Sony Gallery showed Helwan University professor and post- or rather quasi-conceptual artist D George Fikry's From Earth, Heart, Eyes, Soul, to the World -- comprising four long-term projects-cum-installations that combine traditional and experimental methods to "claim ownership of metaphorical presence". These vastly ambitious works are Earth Mythology (1993-1996), The Soul, Body and Dream Series (1997-1999), The Legend Series (2000 -2001) and Narrative Icons (2005 - 2007). Invariably, he says, Fikry is motivated by "the search for feelings of (re)birth that simultaneously express and are expressed by me -- signs, symbols and elements that together make up an existential presence reflecting memory" -- and the effect is one of being enclosed, even caught up, in a world of references bound only by a loose sense of identity. "Social, economic and political factors give birth to Egypt's present reality on the walls." Which are covered to every last inch, let that be made clear. "It's all about combining opposites: stability and change, the static and the dynamic, individuality and collectivity, the voluntary and the involuntary, the self and others..." Reflecting his work at the university, where he teaches history of thought, folklore and aesthetics, Fikry's art is, as he puts it, "a quest for innovative means to relay identity, giving it visual life".
Thus his raw material ranges widely, from Arabic calligraphy to photography, from sound as an integral part of the viewer's experience to the performance aspects of the contemporary installation. "I work against order, attempting to recreate concepts rather than binding myself by them. It is a narrative process, and always risky, because it does away with beauty and sense in favour of process." A sense of the sacred infuses motifs and symbols, with geometric form galore. Yet Fikry manages to be sensual at the same time, fluctuating dramatically within the space of a few centimetres: the way he thinks of it, he is telling a story, invoking emotions and provoking thoughts; elements speak to each other to push the plot forward. And in line with his general approach, he uses pastels, charcoal, dyes, stickers and many other media; he builds his own constructions, stimulated by each element in its own right. "Such elements captivate me before I've even embarked on the creative process. I interact with them, which is how they come to interact with each other; their spiritual energies are unleashed through intellectual correlations fuelled by recollection. The use of one colour in its full range of hues -- black and greys, for example -- will of course contribute to a sense of unity within each project."
Mythical, ritual and iconic overtones reflect historical and religious popular culture -- "the main drive of contemporary Egyptians", who continue to thrive on customs, traditions and collective memory and maintain a remarkable degree of temporal and spacial continuity. From Earth, Heart, Eyes, Soul, to the Wall is best appreciated in the light of the artist's previous work: Simulating the Trilogy (1997-2003), for example, inspired by painted walls in rural houses and classic murals alike, combined ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic influences, using the same oxidisation technique which, originating in ancient Egypt, was adopted first for Christian iconography and later for non-figurative Islamic decorations. In the present exhibit, similarly embedded impulses can be traced back through time in the manner in which Fikry approaches such topics as man-woman relations. The physical possibilities of persons and objects reflect the values rooted in the culture, drawing on an existing pool of emotions to enliven the scene. "These persons, objects and creatures could take the form of comic-strip characters: clowns, kings, queens, saints, savages, sages, even 'transformers'... They may occupy a central or peripheral position, but they live by evocation alone; they remain a consequence of direct experience occurring through social relations and street-life experiences. The alleyway and the interaction it is witness to between different social classes also colour the whole. But however collective it all gets, it all remains personal."
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