The 2015 Summer Collection of the Safarkhan Gallery, part of which was covered in the past weeks, includes works by both late and contemporary artists who hail from different generations: Al-Hussein Fawzi, Tahia Halim, Injy Aflaton, Mohamed Ismail, Zahra Aflaton, Farouk Hosni, Ahmed Shiha, Ahmed Nawwar, Sarkis Tossoonian, Mahmoud Afifi and Sabah Naaim. Armenian-Alexandrian sculptor Sarkis Tossoonian excels in blending two different mediums in his works like non shiny bronze with shiny golden brass. His sculptures depict both male and female figures dressed elegantly and representing mostly aristocratic and noble graceful forms. He showcases 28 sculpted pieces, 25x70cm, which incarnated the daily life activities such as his statue of a little street vendor, a young girl and a bride. Although metals are his favourite material, Tossoonian carved granite statues in two editions of the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium. He emphasized on small details in an attempt to embody the movement through the woman's hair, dress and scarf which fly over her body. Polishing the different parts of the sculpture's external façade enabled the artist to play with light and shadow. His artworks reflect his positive and optimistic vision and his fascination with the Greco-Roman civilization which governed Alexandria in ancient times. After one year of taming granite, Tossoonian realized that carving granite totally contradict what he used to in wood and bronze. The artist is free to highlight details but in granite it is better to carve simple abstract forms devoid of too much details. Tossoonian prefers to carve figurative statues because it best evocatively expresses his ideas. Born in Alexandria in 1953, Sarkis Tossoonian graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Sculpture department in 1979. He started exhibiting in individual and group exhibitions in Alexandria since 1980. The exhibition runs through 30 September.
