Artist Hossam Dirar will hold his third solo exhibition at Art Talks, titled Dirar Goes Abstract, opening on 7 November. Dirar Goes Abstract presents a new collection of abstract paintings by Dirar as he reflects on the artist's accumulated experiences on his journey between his country, Egypt, and the West, which he set out to explore. In addition to individual identity, the themes in his work include “the conflict between beginnings and ends, past and present, the battle between the mind and the soul ... and a re-interpretation of his memory,” according to the exhibition literature. This is not Dirar's first exhibition at Art Talks; he started there with a joint show with Syrian artist Sabhan Adam titled Beauty and the Beast. His second appearance came in 2015, with a solo exhibition called Invitation Au Voyage, followed by Le Harem – Le Caire in 2017. According to Art Talks, Dirar was selected by Saatchi in 2014 as one of 12 emerging artists of great promise. Born in 1978, he is a graduate of the Helwan Applied Arts Faculty, currently moving between Cairo, where he is based, and Barcelona, where he is studying art. He works in painting, photography, installation, video and graphics. Dirar's work was shown in group exhibitions in Bahrain, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and South Africa. Programme: Tuesday 7 November at 6pm Art Talks, 8 El-Kamel Mohamed St., Zamalek, Cairo
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