“90 Days in the Studio” is Hany Rashed's newest collection of paintings on display at SOMA art gallery. In his latest work, Rashed generates layers of motion and stillness, making violence and submission meet in an uncanny compositions. The street remains the artist's muse – except that now the street is not an entity Rashed engages with but an object that is distant and out of reach. Forced into stillness, Rashed's studio is filled with contradictions. Speed and stillness merge into a parallel dimension in which the evolution of time from an abstract image to a figure, an object and finally the room – can be visualised. These four stages, viewed as conceptual phases in Rashed's work, also reveal his practice-based approach, showing us the process of his work. Many of his pieces use imagery which draw on social issues that affect young people in Egypt such as the acquisition of desirable commodities, sexuality and state control over freedom of speech, reaffirming Rashed's ability to sensitively engage with his social and political surroundings. Born in Cairo in 1975, Rashed is a self-taught artist who worked closely with the celebrated artist Mohamed Abla. By experimenting with a wide range of techniques, such as collage, monotype, painting, and sculpture, he continuously reinvents himself and his work. The exhibition is on until 7 December.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 5 November, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
