MOHAMED ABLA

As one of the most established and recognized contemporary artists in Egypt, Mohamed Abla enjoys a strong following among both artists and art lovers in Egypt and beyond. Born in Mansoura in 1953, he is a painter, sculptor, engraver and installation artist with a focus on graphics and oil painting. He has combined various techniques, all against a backdrop of heavily relevant political and social commentary.

After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria in 1973, Abla embarked upon a seven-year journey around Europe in 1978, where he visited museums in Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, eventually studying art, sculpture and graphics in Vienna and Zurich.

He showed his first solo exhibition at the Hohmann Gallery in Germany, followed by shows at Gallery Ewat in Holland in 1989, Art Hall Orebro in Sweden and the Egyptian Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1991. After the birth of his son, Abla moved back to Egypt, where he held several solo exhibitions around the country.

In 1994, he won first place at the Kuwait Biennale, followed by the Grand Prix at the Alexandria Biennale in 1997. He has also participated in several international art events such as the Havana Biennale, and his work was part of several group exhibitions at the Kunst Museum in Bonn, Germany. In 2007, Abla founded the Fayoum Art Center and two years later, he established the first caricature museum in the Middle East, also in Fayoum. He now lives between Egypt and Germany.

Clockwise from top left:

Mohamed Abla

Myths , 2005

Acrylic on canvas

120 x 160 cm

Mohamed Abla

Nile (1) , 2002

Oil and collage on canvas

120 x 160 cm

Mohamed Abla

Nile (2) , 2005

Oil on canvas

140 x 125 cm

Mohamed Abla

Nile (3) , 2002

Acrylic on canvas

115 x 165 cm

Mohamed Abla

Nile (4) , 2005

Acrylic on canvas

120 x 140 cm