Lightness

About Jamal Bassiouni

Jamal Bassiouni is a young and emerging visual artist and painter from Alexandria, Egypt. His brightly colored acrylic paintings reference themes from nature and history, turning them into an intricate visual web. As an artist, he explores… Read more

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Jamal Bassiouni is a young and emerging visual artist and painter from Alexandria, Egypt. His brightly colored acrylic paintings reference themes from nature and history, turning them into an intricate visual web. As an artist, he explores our relationship with nature and ourselves, creating vivid paintings that are at once symbolic and deeply personal. Bassiouni’s ideas for his portraits are initially inspired by events and people in his own life. Working in a spontaneous, reactive manner, his compositions and subject matter often change during the painting process as he allows his intuition to guide the final image. He leaves the faces of his subjects blank, inviting the viewer to project their own emotions.

Over the three thematically-linked series Hounds, Birds of Passage and Moving Shapes, the artist uses painting to explore different aspects of who we are, our relationship with nature and the outside world. While each series explores a different idea, all Bassiouni’s works are linked by their interplay of color, pattern and texture, defying the confines of genre and medium in a unique fashion.

In his Hounds series, Bassiouni investigates and celebrates our historic relationship with dogs. In the three paintings, detailed portraits of the animals stand in contrast to the faceless human silhouettes they share the frame with. Incorporating elements of Ancient Greek vase painting with rich patterns and complex linework, Bassiouni creates a mood and tone that is entirely his own.

Birds of Passage is a series of portraits celebrating its subjects and our unbreakable bond with nature. The playful, inventive portraits invite the viewer on a journey to fantasy worlds, rich with bold colors and rich patterns. Each work portrays a single female figure, portrayed in a fascinating, dreamlike scenario, from the ice cream paradise in Wonderland to Wild Soul Woman’s mythical surroundings. The figures in the works are inspired by women in the artist’s own life, as well as symbolizing wider themes of life and unconditional love.

Moving Shapes is a series of portraits centered around movement, grace and strength. The flowing portraits are accented by bright splashes of color and a rich variety of pattern and texture, bringing his subjects to life. The sense of movement is emphasized by the artist’s expressive brushstrokes, which underpin the fantastical scenes with a human, tactile element. In these paintings, Bassiouni combines techniques and styles to create dynamic new works that pulse with energy and elegance.

VITA

Jamal Bassiouni was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1993. After completing a Master’s degree in Painting from the Fine Arts Faculty at Alexandria University, Bassiouni’s profile has quickly risen in the contemporary painting scene. Despite only graduating in 2019, his portfolio has already received significant attention. In recent years, his works have been exhibited in Cairo, Dubai and France. He lives and works in Alexandria.