A dual exhibition of paintings by Sarah Al-Samman entitled “Paralles From Within”, and Ahmed El Badawi named “Routes” is currently on show at UBUNTU gallery. Sarah Al-Samman was born in 1983. She received her BA in visual arts from the American University in Cairo, then went on to work in the field of interior design for several years before returning to studying art under the guidance of the renowned Egyptian artist Magd El Sagini until 2015. Al-Samman draws inspiration from the many surfaces and textures of her everyday surroundings, capturing the energy and the character of Cairo dwellers. Through the use of mixed media, she is able to freely explore overlapping elements recreating familiar forms in an abstracted patchwork of surfaces. Her work is often chaotic and layered, finding beauty in what is overlooked. She has participated in various local group exhibitions including two group exhibitions at Ubuntu gallery.
Born in 1990, Ahmed El Badawi holds a BA in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University (2012) and has been exhibiting his work since 2005. He participated in several group exhibitions including the Al Talaae exhibition in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016, the Youth Salon in 2011, 2013 and 2016, the Dai Festival for Arab Youth in 2016, “Third Dimension” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria (2016), “Birds” at Qordoba gallery in 2016, the Future Generation Art Prize Exhibition and the Farouk Hosny Association for Arts and Culture (2020). He also gave a solo exhibition, “Direction” at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek (2018). He has received several awards for painting including Al Talaae in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the CIB possession award from the Youth Salon in 2011 and the first award in painting from Dai Festival in 2018. 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The exhibition will be running until 11 April.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 March, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
