Introduction
to
Homage
To
Brazil
As an archaeologist, an art historian, and a renowned collector/dealer of art from all corners of the world, Fayez Barakat has always been interested in ethnography, particularly in the cultures of the Amazon, and their use of feather-work as ritual decorations. Fascinated by the colors and structure of feathered headpieces from Brazil, his latest series, Homage to Brazil, aesthetically reveals the intrinsic beauty of feather-work through paint. According to the artist, “all art is in some way inspired by nature and there is no beauty greater than the beauty of the feathered bird species native to Brazil and to the Amazon.” Looking at these paintings, one is transcended to another realm of consciousness and to another part of the world through the composition of bright colors, shapes, and forms. The series exhibits a range of techniques, showcasing Barakat’s versatility as an artist. Whilst some paintings take on a more figurative approach, with feather-like forms placed boldly against a rich background, other works exhibit Barakat’s signature abstract style with coalescing swirls of paint dancing across the surface and pointillist dots of colors adding to the energy. Some works display a lattice-pattern of multicolored lines combined with feather shapes executed with such precision so as to show the lined-detailing in each small feather form. Set against layered backgrounds of different colored paints, these textural works utilize an abstract expressionist style but to new ends – they pay tribute to the energy and beauty of Brazil and to the feathered headpieces of tribal chiefs. New colors are continuously discovered, as flickers of paint emerge amidst the different forms which cover each canvas, eliciting a sense of movement and vibrancy, as if the forms are feathers in motion. The rhythm of patterned colors seems to take flight and take hold of the human imagination. In some pieces, forms which simulate the beauty and structural quality of feathers are painted in bright colors and simply set against a plain bold background so that each pigment stands out fully. Barakat has claimed that he found it challenging to re-create the aesthetics of such unique natural forms, but the artist’s technique of subtly blending the contrasting colors used in certain areas of the canvas adds a softness to the appearance of forms which is suggestive in places of the textural quality of real feathers.
As a celebration of the aesthetic beauty of Amazonian featherwork, this series pays tribute to the country of Brazil and the impressive feathered garments exhibited by Amazonian tribe leaders. The beautiful combination of dynamic lines, dots and larger areas of paint create a composite of color on each canvas, which are so seamlessly unified and attentively structured, that each piece reflects the magnificence of feathered headpieces and the bold colors of Brazil.
Katie Beeton Barakat Gallery, London
Homage To Brazil 9 Acrylic on Canvas 183 x 183 cm (FZP.20759)
Homage To Brazil 65 Acrylic on Canvas 122 x 152 cm (FZP.20783)
Homage To Brazil 14 Acrylic on Canvas 182 x 152 cm (FZP.20764)
Homage To Brazil 61 Acrylic on canvas 200 x 150 cm
(FZP.20823)
Homage To Brazil 41 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20804)
Homage To Brazil 64 Acrylic on canvas 153 x 213 cm
(FZP.20810)
Homage To Brazil 24 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm (FZP.20774)
Homage To Brazil 67 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20789)
Homage To Brazil 32 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20782)
Homage To Brazil 17 Acrylic on canvas 182 x 152 cm
(FZP.20814)
Homage To Brazil 44 Acrylic on canvas 101 x 152 cm
(FZP.20805)
Homage To Brazil 57 Acrylic on Canvas 182 x 152 cm
(FZP.20765)
Homage To Brazil 33 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20811)
Homage To Brazil 39 Acrylic on canvas 200 x 150 cm
(FZP.20807)
Homage To Brazil 42 Acrylic on canvas 182 x 152 cm
(FZP.20806)
Homage To Brazil 43 Acrylic on canvas 200 x 150 cm
(FZP.20803)
Homage To Brazil 58 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20825)
Homage To Brazil 75 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20822)
Homage To Brazil 76 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm (FZP.20821)
Homage To Brazil 77, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20819)
Homage To Brazil 1 Acrylic on Canvas 40 x 120 cm
(FZP.20751)
Homage To Brazil 2 Acrylic on Canvas 40 x 120 cm
(FZP.20752)
Homage To Brazil 3 Acrylic on Canvas 40 x 120 cm
(FZP.20753)
Homage To Brazil 6 Acrylic on Canvas 40 x 120 cm
(FZP.20756)
Homage To Brazil 23 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20773)
Homage To Brazil 72 Acrylic on Canvas 101 x 152 cm
(FZP.20801)
Homage To Brazil 28 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20778)
Homage To Brazil 46 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 91 cm
(FZP.20795)
Homage To Brazil 74 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 183 cm
(FZP.20820)
Homage To Brazil 53 Acrylic on canvas 101 x 152 cm
(FZP.20818)
Homage To Brazil 69 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20792)
Homage To Brazil 27 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20777)
Homage To Brazil 26 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20776)
Homage To Brazil 36 Acrylic on canvas 153 x 213 cm
(FZP.20808)
Homage To Brazil 62 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20780)
Homage To Brazil 29 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20779)
Homage To Brazil 11 Acrylic on Canvas 183 x 183 cm
(FZP.20761)
Homage To Brazil 31 Acrylic on canvas 153 x 213 cm
(FZP.20809)
Homage To Brazil 19 Acrylic on Canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20769)
Homage To Brazil 16 Acrylic on Canvas 180 x 150 cm
(FZP.20766)
Homage To Brazil 4 Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 40 cm
(FZP.20754)
Homage To Brazil 5 Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 40 cm
(FZP.20755)
Homage to Brazil 79 Acrylic on canvas 30 x 40 cm (FZP.20829)
Homage To Brazil 60 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 183 cm
(FZP.20815)
Homage To Brazil 30 Acrylic on canvas 153 x 213 cm
(FZP.20812)
Homage To Brazil 25 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20775)
Homage To Brazil 34 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20784)
Homage To Brazil 22 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20772)
Homage To Brazil 51 Acrylic on Canvas 101 x 152 cm
(FZP.20800)
Homage To Brazil 59 Acrylic on Canvas 150 x 150 cm
(FZP.20767)
Homage To Brazil 78 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 183 cm
(FZP.20828)
Homage To Brazil 37 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20787)
Homage To Brazil 66
Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20786)
Homage To Brazil 8 Acrylic on canvas 122 x 152 cm
(FZP.20817)
Homage To Brazil 12 Acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm
(FZP.20813)
Homage To Brazil 20 Acrylic on Canvas 150 x 150 cm
(FZP.20770)
Homage To Brazil 38 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20788)
Homage To Brazil 68 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20790)
Homage To Brazil 35 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20785)
Homage To Brazil 54 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm (FZP.20791)
Homage To Brazil 70 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm
(FZP.20793)
Homage To Brazil 48 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 91 cm (FZP.20797)
Homage To Brazil 47 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 91 cm (FZP. 20796)
Homage To Brazil 49 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 91 cm
(FZP.20798)
Homage To Brazil 50 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 91 cm (FZP.20799)
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Fayez Barakat (b.1949), one of the world's most distinguished and prominent collectors of ancient art, was educated in the USA. He is currently the CEO of Barakat Inc. and manages to distribute his time between his galleries in London, LA, Hong Kong, and Seoul, and works on his great passion, painting. Fayez Barakat's paintings are explosive variations of colors and forms, independent from the conventions of specific cultures, historic periods and trends, charged with a bold energy that openly and without any hesitation embraces and promotes an aesthetic identity through a unique artistic diversity. Being a prolific artist, a vast quantity of his paintings adopt multiple and various techniques rather than sticking to one specific style, his work has the nature of a disciplined practice that drives him as an artist beyond his own limits. Fayez has repeatedly stated that the presence of external forces motivates him to paint, and believes that his paintings are created through his immersion in an unconscious ‘space of energy’, and that viewers of his artworks are also influenced, moved, driven and transported by the power of this energy. A combination of the artist’s experiences in various phases of his life, through different religions and cultures, Fayez’s aesthetic world leads us to a place beyond the orthodox educational and institutional discussions, to a world that can only be reached by virtue of meditating through the body and its senses. Having created a prestigious reputation and dominated the ancient art market with his professional acumen, Fayez Barakat is presently actively captivated by his paintings. We confidently anticipate that his rich oeuvre will expand our sensorial awareness and expose us to new aesthetic levels of consciousness.
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