An exhibition of sketches? It sounded a little strange. In day-to-day art in Cairo, the sketch hardly ever figures. That early stage of the work, whether a painting or a sculpture, is concealed by the artist and ignored by the critics, who only concern themselves with the finished piece. In a spirited initiative, however, the newly opened Doum Art Gallery decided to concentrate on just that disavowed aspect of the creative process. It called its second exhibition — opened on 24 May — simply Sketch, and managed to bring together every generation of Egyptian artist under the unexpected banner. Around 70 artists contributed over 300 works to the exhibition, but not every work on show is a sketch. Some artists contributed finished paintings, resulting in an overall sense of tension in the exhibition. The new gallery, inaugurated on 1 May, is located on Adly Street, on the first floor of a historical building opposite the famous synagogue. It is a large space with high ceilings and doorless rooms that inspire freedom. It is the latest acquisition of writer and photographer Khaled Al-Khamisi's Doum Cultural Foundation. Though made in oil, his usual medium, Omar Al-Fayoumi's four works are in the spirit of the event. They use recycled yellow paper and betray a more fervent hand: “I had more time for sketches under the curfew last year than ever before. I usually get this paper from small furniture factories around my home. It was real fun.” As for the form itself, he said it was “the preparation for a new artwork. It could make a very special work on its own, but it is still a sketch. It is a kind of swift transfer of a unique idea from the artist's mind directly onto paper.” Randa Ismail shows two small sketches in ink on paper: landscapes. Ismail says it would have been better had the exhibition been restricted to true sketches. “Pioneering artists such as Wagih Yassa, George Bahgory, Mustafa Al Razzaz and others made great accomplishments in the art of the sketch. Such works should be shown on their own…” One could also imagine a wider variety of subjects than landscape, portraits, and female figures. Among the most captivating are Mustafa Selim's pen-on-paper nudes, Asmaa Sami's watercolour figure and Nahed Shakir's four pencil-on-paper portraits. For their part Mohamed Abla's six mixed-media works, featuring the movement of people on the streets during saints' anniversaries and Nora Tharwat's funny watercolour sketch of a cat are very strong. So are George Bahgory's six ink-on-paper encounters between lovers and friends. Khedr Hassan, the cartoonist, shows four brilliant pencil and ink caricatures, the most captivating of which features a woman with heavy curls and a crooked nose. Artist Effat Hosni shows two fascinating caricature-like watercolour paintings featuring exotic male-female relationships. They are great works, but they have nothing to do with sketches. The exhibition does reflect a wide range of media: ink, pencil, watercolour and acrylic in different sizes. This makes for visual overload, with the viewer requiring more than one viewing to take everything in. “I don't think it's a problem,” says curator Samir Abdel-Ghani, aka the Dynamo, another cartoonist, “and the reason is that this is the very nature of the art of the sketch. Sketches should reflect different materials and styles. The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to attract both leading and younger artists as well as amateurs all under the same roof.” Abdel-Ghani went on to explain, “After the gallery's first exhibition, which featured works by pioneering artists such as George Bahgory, Samir Fouad, Mustafa Rahma, Mohamed Abla and others, we wanted to send a message to young artists that this gallery is open to their works too. And indeed this has given the gallery a youthful spirit. A kind of spirit that is hard to find in other galleries.” Sultan Ahmed, a fresh graduate of the Faculty of Education in Suhag, is the youngest artist participating. He shows two large pencil-on-paper drawings, entitled “The Prisoner and Simplicity”, which are almost complete works. The caricature-like drawings are unique and testimony to his talent. Sorrour Alwani, a prominent Syrian artist now living in Egypt, believes that “sketches are more candid and truthful than the complete paintings, which are submitted to the artist's makeup and artificial touches.” Alwani, formerly a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, now giving workshops at the Doum headquarters in Agouza, shows five strong watercolour nudes. “What I really like about the Doum Cultural Foundation,” he said, “is that it works as an independent catalyst attracting new audience and members to its family, and then the family gets bigger and bigger every day.” Inaugurated in September 2013, the Doum Cultural Foundation is a non-profit organisation that shows an interest in and bias for young artists and writers. Al-Khamisi says that the young make up over two thirds of Egypt's population, and therefore need more cultural outlets. “We hope that Doum will provide the kind of knowledge that chimes with the revolutionary moment our society is going through, a kind of knowledge that establishes critical thinking, which is missing in our society. This is the basis for creativity and innovation in all fields.” Abdel-Ghani hopes that the Doum Art Gallery will work as a melting pot and a meeting point for older and younger generations of artists and writers, and as an outlet for young artists to sell their work at price that can contribute to their livelihood. “The plan is to dedicate one room to works by young artists. This would serve as a gifts section, to encourage people to purchase works at affordable prices,” he explained. He also announced that there will be a binannual series of sketch exhibitions. Sketch runs through 12 June.
