"Garden of Life", is a duo exhibition of paintings by Nihad Bahgat and Mona Afifi currently on show at Grant gallery, Downtown Cairo. The theme of the exhibition is based on the vision of each one of the artists on the meaning of life through an artistic perspective. For his part, Bahgat depicted man as a hero in most of his paintings as he is depicted in different positions embodying the spirit of the family and the daily life in the Egyptian home through the most distinctive life traditions and inherited customs of the Egyptians with all what it carries from sadness and human relations. Bahgat has left his very own and rebellious print on tens of films during 45 years of hard work in as an art director in several films and also designed for the theatre a number of scenes for many plays. His artworks received several prizes, certificates of recognition and medals as well as international awards. The Ministry of Culture has held specifically for Bahgat a solo exhibition at Akhenaton gallery in 1972 and he had another exhibition at Picasso gallery in 2001. Afifi has chosen to express how she visualizes the meaning of life through the figure of the Arabian horse that blends between power, the beauty of the form, elegancy and slimness. This is in addition to some paintings depicting the still life in an attempt to convert the solid elements into moving ones full of life. The painting of the horse duo is by Afifi. The exhibition is running through 18 June.
