Forty by Salam Yousry

www.arttalks.com

40

Salam Yousry March 2022

40 Salam Yousry

EXHIBITION

www.arttalks.com

15 March 2022 8 April 2022

‫‪SALAM‬‬ ‫‪YO U S R Y‬‬

‫‪BIO‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ـدت مشــاهد‬ ‫باحثــا عــن الفراغــات فــي محتواهــا‪ :‬فوجـ ُ‬ ‫ـوص فــي ذاكرتــي‬ ‫مــع إتمامــي عامــي األربعيــن؛ حاولـ ُ‬ ‫ـت الغـ َ‬

‫‪Salam Yousri is a multidisciplinary artist born in‬‬

‫غيــرت وعيــي‬ ‫فتبــدت‬ ‫وجمــل وروائــح كانــت خبيئــة إلــى أن تذكرتَ هــا‬ ‫صــورا ملونــة ومرســومة؛ كان مــن شــأنِها أن َّ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َّ‬

‫‪1982, based in Cairo. He founded Al-Tamye Theater‬‬

‫ـاحة فــي خيالــي‪.‬‬ ‫ـزادت مسـ ً‬ ‫وطـ َّـو َرت رؤيتــي؛ مــرةً أثنــاء وقوعهــا ومــرةً أخــرى وقــت تعبيــري عنهــا فـ َ‬

‫‪Group in 2002 and the Combo Independent Festi-‬‬

‫تبدأ الرحلة في عام ‪ ١٩٨١‬وأنا في رحم أمي‪ ،‬ويالها من رحلة!‬

‫‪val in 2012. After his graduation in 2004, from the‬‬

‫علــى مــدار مســيرتي واعتمــادي علــى الحكــي الشــخصي فــي المســرح والموســيقى والرســم‪ ،‬ال يمثــل الغــوص‬

‫‪Painting Department in The Faculty of Fine Arts,‬‬

‫ألتخطــى‬ ‫ـم أعمــق لنفســيتي وطباعــي‪:‬‬ ‫عبــرت‪ ،‬وإنمــا محاولــة لفهـ ٍ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫فــي الــذات حنينً ــا لذكــرى أو تمســك بلحظــات َ‬ ‫وجبــت مراجعتهــا‪.‬‬ ‫ـاع وأنمــاط‬ ‫َ‬ ‫حيــة إلــى اآلن ً‬ ‫صدمــات ّ‬ ‫رغمــا عــن مــرور الوقــت وأتخلــص مــن طبـ ٍ‬

‫واجبا إلتمام ما بدأتُ ه‪.‬‬ ‫صار تجميع الخيوط‬ ‫ً‬

‫‪Salam worked as a Teaching Assistant in the same department and as a professional illustrator for major advertising com‬‬‫‪panies. He also worked as a curator for Fonoon Art Gallery and Bookshop in 2005. In 2009, Salam managed the “eka3 for‬‬ ‫‪Independent Music Production and Distribution” office in Cairo. In 2010, Salam founded The Choir Project, an initiative‬‬

‫ ‬ ‫ ‬

‫سالم يسري‬ ‫‪ ٨‬مارس ‪٢٠٢٢‬‬

‫‪that invites members of the public and professional artists to participate in workshops of collective creation, during which‬‬ ‫‪texts are collectively written and turned into songs or live performances. Salam has since led community-based workshops‬‬ ‫‪in songwriting and performance across the Middle East, Europe and the United States. He has also produced and direct‬‬‫‪ed several music videos, ads, documentaries and short films.‬‬

‫سالم يسري هو فنان متعدد التخصصات من القاهرة‪ ،‬ومن مواليد ‪ .١٩٨٢‬أسس فرقة الطمي المسرحية في عام ‪ ٢٠٠٢‬ومهرجان «كومبو‬ ‫مستقل» في ‪ .٢٠١٢‬منذ عام ‪ ٢٠٠٤‬وبعد تخرجه في كلية الفنون الجميلة بجامعة حلوان‪ ،‬عمل كمعيد بقسم التصوير‪ .‬كما عمل كمدير لقاعة‬ ‫عرض ومكتبة فنون في ‪ .٢٠٠٥‬وفي ‪ ٢٠٠٩‬عمل كمدير لعمليات مكتب شركة إيقاع للتوزيع واإلنتاج الموسيقي بالقاهرة‪.‬‬ ‫أسس مشروع كورال في مايو ‪ ،٢٠١٠‬وهي مبادرة تدعو بشكل مفتوح األفراد من المحترفين والهواة للمشاركة في ورش عمل للكتابة‬ ‫والتلحين الجماعي‪ .‬وقد قام منذ ذلك الوقت بإدارة ورش عمل لإلبداع الجماعي في مصر وفي الشرق األوسط وأوروبا والواليات المتحدة‬ ‫األمريكية‪.‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أيضا بمجال الدعاية واإلعالن كرسام ومصمم ومخرج وله تجارب ِع ّدة في األفالم التسجيلية والروائية القصيرة واألغاني المصورة‪.‬‬ ‫عمل‬

Salam Yousry:

The Extraordinary, the Ugly, and the Very Personal

With a high degree of candor and the use of figural distortions in place of standard ideals of beauty, Salam Yousry’s (self) portraits will help re-establish the vibrancy of both genres. At times, classic elements appear in his work, giving the profoundly intimate imagery a broader, metaphorical message on the human predicament. Yousry’s subjects are piercing investigations of the models’ minds, and his drawings commonly exhibit subjects viewed from above or sideways and bereft of secondary qualities commonly represented in the portrait genre.

Forty (40) is Salam Yousry’s number of years on planet Earth. The exhibition with 15 paintings and 20 sketches takes us on a personal investigation down Yousry’s memory lane. Vibrant and more minimalistic than earlier works, Forty (40) takes a step further by incorporating what some may call figurative aberrations, which comprise elongations, malforma-

By Fatenn Mostafa-Kanafani

tions, and transparency. His new body of work, with its unusual level of emotional candor and employment of figural distortions in favor of traditional ideas of beauty, show vigor to tell the story of a childhood and adolescence lived in Cairo at his Faysal apartment, at the Frères School, or the faculty. It also depicts the many people and moments that impacted his

The first time I saw a painting by Salam Yousry, I was stunned. The work was radical, distinctive, and somehow inti-

upbringing and career path the most.

mate and apologetic. I was looking at an astonishing painting with a unique style that combined twisted body shapes and expressive lines like I had not seen before on the Egyptian contemporary art scene. Who is the artist, I was impatient to find out? Was that specific work I saw, a one-off? I began researching the artist and his work.

Born in Cairo in 1982, Salam Mahmoud Yousry Helmi, known as Salam Yousry, is more than a painter. Multilingual and multi-disciplinary in his practice, he is a producer, a documentary maker, an actor, a theater director and performer, a writer, a music composer, and a visual artist. Yousry graduated with Honors from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, spe-

Yousry’s portraiture, which typically shows him-

cializing in painting in 2004. Between 2001 and 2007, he exhibited his paintings in the faculty’s collective shows in Cairo and

self or people close to him, frequently exhibits his sub-

various solo exhibitions in Egypt and Europe. Then, he took a 10-year break from public shows and focused on filmmaking

jects in a story Yousry wants to remember from a far

and theater production. Only in 2017 does Salam Yousry return to exhibiting his paintings.

gone past. The intensely emotional, often unnerving expression Yousry developed is gripping, with its in-

Strongly influenced by the Jugendstil movement, the German Art Nouveau, Salam Yousry is an outstanding painter

quiry of his sitters’ inner lives and mental reactions.

with a unique style. His mentally charged creations and captivating canvases embrace figural deformation and a strong

One of the most notable pieces in the exhibited series,

rejection of traditional (feminine) beauty criteria. Freed of the formal academic limitations, Yousry investigates not just the

1981, shows Yousry in his mother’s womb and a prom-

human figure but also human interactions, experiences, and sensuality. His adventurous and bold work puts Yousry in a

inent father reaching out with a protective hand. The

league of his own since the contemporary local scene has been conditioned to a certain figurative style repeatedly produced

250 x 150 cm painting sets off the narrative of Yousry’s

by various artists and widely displayed over the past years. Whereas a few artists may play around with deformation, they

life. Playfight, My Aunt, Feast, and 1992 depict various

lack Yousry’s spontaneity, intensity, and depth, making Yousry’s raw and authentic. In this context, spontaneity needs to be

memories at the beach or at home celebrating a Cop-

understood as the attempt to express highly personal narratives and meaningful thoughts rather than speed in drawing. In

tic feast. “Laila” appears in more than one painting,

fact, Yousry spends months thinking of the trajectory of every painting. He puts random ideas on paper, builds a storyboard

making her a consistent link and a mysterious woman

in his mind and studio, and creates a concrete series of sketches before producing his paintings.

in the artist’s life.

A 21st-century Egyptian mixture of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele with Yousry favoring a vivid palette and glinting, patterned surface areas, Yousry’s paintings in Forty (40) feature an unprecedented sense of psychological incisiveness, enable the vibrancy of figurative art, especially portraits, and present an innovative and refined approach to the bare human form that will confound local academics, traditionalists, and progressives. An Expressionist painter par excellence, Yousry’s work is noted for its intensity and its rawness through the twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize his paintings and drawings. With its distorted lines and extensive show of figurative emotion, his unorthodox art and style go against rigorous academics, mixing linearity and subtlety. Some may describe Yousry’s work as monstrous, frightening, with a concentration on nudity, revelation, and deformation, if not ugliness. Yoursy celebrates “Le laid est beau,” [The Ugly is Beautiful].

Yousry’s biggest visibility to date came from the “Doko al-Jidran” exhibition organized and curated by ArtTalks in solidarity with Palestine in May 2021. His participation with two paintings, Art Teacher and On Stage, both produced in 2019, revealed Yousry’s profound use of private iconography and allegory to the regional public. The Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah acquired Art Teacher.

Forty [40] displays the maturity of an artist who is fully in command of his abilities and now has a personal story to tell. Salam Yousry is on the cusp of major success and recognition, and I am delighted that he returned to painting!

Salam Yousry | “My Aunt“ | Acrylic on canvas | 150 x 150 cm

WHERE WERE YOU IN 1982

Salam Yousry | “Yasmina 2005 “ | Oil on canvas | 120 x 80 cm

Salam Yousry | “Feast “ | Oil on canvas | 150 x 150 cm

Salam Yousry | “1992 “ | Oil on canvas | 150 x 150 cm

Salam Yousry | “2000 “ Oil on canvas | 250 x 150 cm

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST BEDROOM Salam Yousry | “Man “ Oil on wood | 176 x 46 cm

Salam Yousry | “Woman “ Oil on wood | 178 x 46 cm

Salam Yousry | “1981 “ Acrylic on canvas | 250 x 150 cm

Salam Yousry | “Lina, Lina and Laura “ | Oil on canvas | 60 x 60 cm

Salam Yousry | “Laila’s Cards “ | Oil on canvas | 60 x 60 cm

WHO WAS YOUR BEST CHILDHOOD FRIEND Salam Yousry | “Play-Fight “ | Acrylic on canvas | 150 x 150 cm

Salam Yousry | “Nile and Sugarcane “ Acrylic on canvas | 250 x 150 cm

Salam Yousry | “Musical Chairs II“ | Oil on canvas | 120 x 80 cm

Salam Yousry | “Musical Chairs I“ | Oil on canvas | 120 x 80 cm

Salam Yousry | “Waking up Everyday“ | Acrylic on canvas | 50 x 50 cm

Salam Yousry | “1984 - Grandmother and sweet potato “ Colored pencils on paper | 27 x 29 cm

Salam Yousry | “2006 - How it all started“ Colored pencils on paper | 55 x 42 cm

Salam Yousry | “Dwontown - 2011 “ | Mixed media on paper | 27 x 29 cm

Salam Yousry | “1997 - Secondary School “ Mixed media on paper | 55 x 30 cm

Salam Yousry | “Me + Father “ Ink on paper | 29.5 x 21 cm

Salam Yousry | “2020 - Studying Her “ Mixed media on paper | 21 x 17 cm

40

Salam Yousry

Published on the occasion of

TEXT Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani

40 - Salam Yousry March 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY

COORDINATORS Cherine Chafik Engy El-Bouliny Wael Seif El Nasr

Salam Yousry | “Red “ | Ink on paper | 29.5 x 21 cm

Salam Yousry | “Man Sketch “ | Ink on paper | 29.5 x 21 cm

Wael Seif El Nasr GRAPHIC CONCEPT & REALIZATION Engy El-Bouliny

8 EL KAMEL MOHAMED ST. ZAMALEK. CAIRO +20227363948 info@arttalks.com www.arttalks.com

‫‪40‬‬

‫ســـالم يســـري‬

‫مارس ‪2022‬‬

‫‪www.arttalks.com‬‬