A group exhibition showcasing works by, among others, Samir Fouad, Ali Al-Ghazouli, Guirgis Lotfi, Farid Fadel, Ali Hassan and Sayed Abdel-Rasoul is currently showing at Picasso gallery in Zamalek. Sayed Abdel-Rasoul (1917-1995) is one of the pioneers of the folk art school led by Ragheb Ayyad. Abdel-Rasoul discovered his symbols and motifs through delving into Egyptian folk art. He studied at the Leonardo da Vinci Italian Institute, Cairo in 1939, moving onto art school from 1942 to 1946 and obtaining scholarship to study ancient Egyptian art at Luxor Studio, where he stayed for three years. He received a diploma in painting from the Art Academy of Rome in 1950. Abdel-Rasoul stands out for his original and contemporary paintings, making brilliant use of the ancient Egyptian form, the Arab-Islamic and the naive folk Egyptian motifs. His oeuvre includes paintings, engravings, ceramic works and sculptures. He exhibited in Cairo, Italy, Moscow, Beijing, Hungary, Brussels, Lebanon, Germany and France. He was the first visual artist to win the State Incentive Award in 1958 and the Arts and Sciences Order of Merit in 1958; he also won the Fine Art Lovers Society Cairo Salon's first painting prize for three years running in 1957-59. He won the first award at the New Delhi Triennale in 1961 as well as prizes from the Venice International Biennale and the Sao Paolo Biennale in Brazil. The exhibition ends on 24 July.
