Mohamed Mandour was born in Al Fustat district, Old Cairo, where he went to school as a youngster and worked since his early childhood in the renowned conventional potteries of this district. Now, in a landmark show for Horizon One Hall in Mahmoud Khalil Museum, which is exhibiting his entire oeuvre, we watch a fiercely uncompetitive talent. In 1967, he joined an atelier in Helwan founded by the painter Sophia Helmi and sculptor Mohamed Hagrass. Then he began his journey with the art of pottery and today Mandour is considered the landmark of modern pottery in the Middle East. His creative potters are inspired by the Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic pottery shapes. The exceptionally gifted potter succeeded in making clay speak, so to speak, as an artistic language that gives eloquent aesthetic indications and signs. At Horizon One Hall, the collection on display reflect Mandour's distinguished style, his clay vases come with their smooth forms, playing on the strings of his rich and diverse store of cultural heritage. He specialized in forming the vase from the red clay preserving the natural components of the vase and is still mastering the use of light and shade as one of the forming elements, a technique distinguished him as a potter who started with forming vases then developed to carve plates and small murals. He is permanently searching for beauty while creating his unique potter wares that are seen as paintings or statues. He creates delicate and sublime pottery with no intention whatsoever of producing functional pottery. He won the prize of the Cairo Second Ceramics Biennale. Following that, he won the prize of the Venice Biennale in Italy in 2002. Mandour is currently living and working in his home district, Al Fustat, where he started his life and where his magnificent art was born. The exhibition is on until 11 January.
