ARABECEDAIRE
Subtitle: Hamed Abdalla
By: editor, Morad Montazami
Contributors: Davies, Clare, 1980- writer of added text; Khouri, Kristine, writer of added text; Naguib, Ezzedine, writer of added text; Mosaic Rooms (London, England)
Publisher: Zamân
Published: 2018
Place of publication: Paris
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
ISBN-13: 9791093781044; 9791093781143
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Catalogs; Exhibitions; Painters; Egyptian Painting; Archives; Catalogues d'exposition
Other titles: Hamed Abdalla
Description: This publication examines the place of Egyptian Modernist painter Hamed Abdalla in transnational modern art history. Mobilizing the personal archives and library of the artist, Arabecedaire reflects on Abdalla's journeys and influences, bringing to light a vast and rich body of material which guided his painting practice. Hamed Abdalla (1917-1985) is an influential painter in Egyptian modernism. Self-taught, he had established himself as an artist by his early 20's. Frustrated by the political climate of his native country, Abdalla left Egypt to continue his career in Copenhagen during the 1960s. Here he crossed paths with artists associated with the CoBrA movement before he moved to France. Linking the origins of his abstract paintings to Islamic traditions and calligraphy, Abdalla explored the concept of the "creative word" or "talisman," the combination of a written word, a body shape and an abstract form, upon the canvas. In his work he reflected on the political change of the time, alongside his research into the visual ideas. Curator Morad Montazami notes "Abdalla represents a prolific 'archive' for different genealogies of trans-arab and Mediterranean modernities."
Notes: "This book is published to mark the exhibtion "Hamed Abdalla. ARABDECAIRE", held in The Mosaic Rooms, London, from 13 April to 23 June 2018"--Colophon.

Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Essays: Hamed Abdalla, eternal traveller / Ezzedine Naguib; title: Hamed Abdalla's "creative-words" : the modern "Oriental" artist in search of a syncretic art / Clare Davies; title: From city to city : Palesting and other ports of call / Kristine Khouri; title: Hamed Abdalla, talismanic modernism / Morad Montazami.