“The Return”, an exhibition of paintings at Samah gallery in Zamalek, is Haytham Abdel-Hafeez's the strong comeback after many years of absence. Migratory birds are known to pluck out their own broken feathers, and the artist's return to creativity is symbolised by an innocent bird sometimes turning into a phoenix, a recurring motif. Abdel-Hafeez mixes bright acrylic with light pastel colours to convey a strong sense of nature. Born in Upper Egypt, Abdel-Hafeez graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1995 and gave numerous solo exhibitions in 2004-2016, also participating in group shows including the 59th Cairo Salon in 2020, the Art Corner group exhibition in 2016, the Salah Taher Hall at the Cairo Opera House in 2013, the Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum first graffiti exhibition and the Alexandria Atelier group exhibition in 2007. Among his recent awards is a 2018 Certificate of Appreciation from the Academy of Arts in Greece. The exhibition continues until 23 November.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 November, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
