Beschreibung:

Adam Henein (Egypt, 1929-2020)Om Kalthoum bronze signed "A HENEIN" and numbered "A.P. I.IX", executed in 2003 154 x 50cm (60 5/8 x 19 11/16in).FootnotesProvenance: Property from a private collection, Cairo Published: Mona Khazindar (ed.), Adam Henein Turin, 2005 (another from the edition illustrated, pp.182-183) Exhibited: Adam Henein Lasting Impressions, Sharjah Art Foundation, 2019 (another from the edition) Peripheral Vision, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, 2010 (another from the edition) "No one can describe the extent of my pride when I went to Paris, stood in the middle of Europe, and raised my voice in the name of Egypt." – Umm Kulthum Mona Khazindar (ed.), Adam Henein Turin, 2005 (another from the edition illustrated, pp.182-183) The present work is an important and monumental tribute by one of the greatest Egyptian sculptors of the century, Adam Henein to the greatest female singer in Arab music history, Um Kulthum. Born in at the turn of the century, Kulthum was known as the Star of the East (kawkab el-sharq). She is recognized as one of the Arab world's most famous and distinguished performers. Abstract forms, pure volumes and dynamic movement characterise Henein's mature works. "Um Kulthum" is elegantly striking by its expressive and asymmetrical rendition and the dynamism and movement of its planes. This artwork embodies a sense of simple monumentality and timelessness that is characterised by an allusive simplification of form that is both modern and archaic. The sculpture is elegant, coherent and a characteristic style of its own that is undeniably inspired by both ancient Egyptian Pharaonic art and European Modernism while reflecting the sophistication of the artist. Adam Henein was born in Cairo in 1929 into a family of metalworkers. In 1953, he graduated from School of Fine Arts, Cairo, he went on to receive a two-year grant to study at the Luxor Atelier. The atelier was established a decade earlier by the notable Egyptian artist and scholar Mohamed Nagi to promote Egyptian art education in school circular. In 1954 and 1956 Henein received the Luxor price for his artistic achievements. Two years later, he received a diploma in advanced practices from the Munich Academy in Germany. In 1971, Adam Henein was invited to participate in an Egyptian contemporary art exhibition in Paris at the Musée Galliera. He spent the next two and half decades, from 1971 to 1996 in Paris pushing his practice through sculpture and painting and continued focusing on ancient Egyptian themes and traditional materials. The early 1970s marked an important evolution in Henein's artistic practice, whilst in Paris he was given the opportunity to be exposed to the work of great western modern sculptors and artists whose freedom of interpretation he found to be deeply inspiring. In the late 1990s Henein returned to his homeland. He contributed greatly to his Egypt's cultural landscape, particularly in Aswan where he established the city's annual International Sculpture Symposium. Upon his return to Egypt he was also appointed by the Minister of Culture to head the design team involved in the restoration of the Great Sphinx in Giza. Henein was awarded Egypt's State Medal, the State Merit Award, as well as the Mubarak Award in the arts. His works have been exhibited at the Institu du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The MATHAF in Doha, The ASB Gallery in Munich as well as in London and Rome. Throughout his vast career Henein produced a significant number of large and small-scale sculptures handling a variety of different mediums such as bronze, granite, plaster, limestone and terracotta. In 2014, the Adam Henein Museum opened its door in Cairo's Al-Harraniya district, which is a priceless gift from the artist himself to his native country. The museum is dedicated to the largest collection of Henein's sculptures as well as featuring some of his paintings.