The unprecedented, first ever, Annual Small Works Exhibition by such contemporary Egyptian painters such as Aya Al-Fallah, Britt Botrous Ghali, Samir Fouad, Hassan Abdel-Fattah, Wagih Yassa, Mustafa Rahma, Mohamed Rabie, Omar Al-Fayoumi is currently on show at Picasso gallery. Omar Al-Fayoumi is famous for his portraits, which he painted in 1988. It represents an important stage of his creative career during his stay in Russia and his studies at the Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. In this exhibition, Al-Fayoumi returns back to his artistic beginning, painting the cafe, which was considered iconic works for which he chose mythical themes. This was followed by painting the Fayoum Portraits inspired by the Coptic artistic tradition, which he had an interest in after his deep understanding of the Coptic artistic legacy coupled with a sophisticated technique. In the faces of human beings painted by Al-Fayoumi, we find him expresses their features that he contemplates and their ways in dealing with life in a philosophical manner. Since his graduation in 1981, the artist has been through different stages of the art of portraiture, he is in love with painting and is fond of colours and beauty and his artworks don't belong to a specific school of art but his style is to some extent close to the expressionistic and realistic school. He doesn't overuse specific colours because for him all colours are the musical instruments that he plays with to create his pieces of art. The exhibition continues until 2 August.
