A retrospective exhibition titled “Art Is My Life” celebrating the rich artistic repertoire of pioneer Egyptian artist Gazbia Sirry is scheduled to open at Cairo's Zamalek Art Gallery on Tuesday 11 October. The exhibition spans the 68 years that make up Sirry's vocation, exhibiting works from as early as the 1940s all the way to the artist's most recent paintings in 2010. At the heart of Sirry's work is a passion for her beloved Egypt and its people, so that “when the country is going through difficult times, Gazbia's suffering is reflected in her artwork,” according to the description of the event on Facebook. “On the other hand, when Egypt flourishes her paintings become colourfully vibrant evoking joy and hope,” it reads. Sirry's devotion to the human being also underpins her early portrait collection, according to the page, especially when looking at “her peasant men and women who hold their sadness with incredible dignity, foreign women and little boys who look back at the viewer with the same curiosity they were painted with, and her portrait of her husband, Adel Sabet, one of the strongest images of an Egyptian man with the sharp intelligence of youth and the adult stare towards the future.” Programme: Tuesday 11 October, 7pm. The exhibition runs until 7 November. Open daily from 10:30am until 7pm, except for Fridays. Zamalek Art Gallery, 11 Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
