A retrospective exhibition of paintings entitled “The Black Cat…A Prison Experiment” by the late artist Mohsen Shaalan is currently on show at the Palace of Arts gallery in the Cairo Opera Complex. The exhibited paintings were produced in prison as he was accused of the robbery of the original Van Gogh's Poppies painting at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum. He was found guilty and sentenced to a year imprisonment on charges of negligence and incompetence in the performance of his duties in relation to the theft. This exhibition showcases the artwork he created during his year in prison. He created a collection of paintings that document Shaalan's ordeal, expressing his feelings of bitterness. The oil paintings in the exhibition are aesthetically appealing, featuring recurring themes and icons. The black cat is one of those icons. Sometimes the black cat is painted with yellow eyes, and sometimes with blue eyes. The black cat represents the people who conspired against him. The black cat is everywhere so that those who conspired against him turns into a black cat. Former head of the Fine Arts Sector, Shalaan was born in Cairo on 14 April 1951 and passed away at the age of 63 in February 2014. He received his BA in Art and Education in 1974. He occupied several positions at the Ministry of Culture , the last of which was his appointment in 2006 as head of the Fine Arts Sector, a body responsible for several art institutions and museums. Shalaan's work is part of the acquisitions of a number of international and local museums, such as the US Congress Library museum in Washington, Al-Ahram newspaper, the Cairo Opera House, the Goethe Institute in Cairo, among others. The exhibition ends 2 June.
