Osama Kamal takes in an exhibition that reproduces one of the earliest forms of decorative art I took a good look at the Nile on my way to the art show by painter Saad Romani -- since that is the closest image in our topography to the essence of what this particular artist aspires to do. I needed the image of the immortal river to stay in my mind as I viewed the extraordinary pieces I knew I would see in the exhibition. The show, which opened recently at the main hall of the Egyptian Opera House, is on until 22 May. Like the Nile, the mosaic art aspires at immortality. And this is what I see in the work of Romani, a most extraordinary artist whom I only met a few months ago when he was curating a show about Arabian horses which he called Sahwa (Horseback). The show brought together the worlds of nearly 100 artists, all sharing the theme of equestrian elegance. The artists were from various schools and inclinations, as well as several generations. That day I was attracted to a mosaic horse by Romani. It was beautiful and proud as the glow of coloured glass shone in a thousand different pieces. Something in the world of Romani attracted me, and it was not just the beauty of his pieces. There is something more, something ineffably noble about the style and the intrepidity of his endeavour. In his show, Microcosm, he exhibits to the public 38 pieces, all in glass mosaic. The 50-something Romani, who graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1982, says that his exhibition is unique both in the Middle East and the world. He notes that there is intense interest in his exhibition from Western curators. There is no exaggeration in his statement, as the price tag on some of his pieces exceeds LE1 million. He tells me that the art of mosaic is rare in today's world. Aside from Germany, England and America, few artists work in mosaics. The rarity of the art is due to its difficulty and the need to be completely focussed and patient when picking up, choosing, and pasting the myriad glass pieces it takes to make one pane. Romani spent some years in Saudi Arabia as a jewellery designer, a career that made him particular about the choice of colour and texture for his art pieces. He spent two years choosing glass pieces for his palette, cataloguing them, and filing them for easy access. His collection of glass pieces includes every imaginable shade of primary and secondary colours. These he fixes with epoxy, a sturdy glue, on the surface of his choice. Just to have an idea of how slow this work is, imagine yourself composing a picture from pieces of glass ranging from one to four millimetres in length, choosing each piece from dozens of available colours. A Romani work is like a dotted painting except that it sparkles in the most stunning manner, allowing you to appreciate a different angle every time you look at it. Some pieces in his collection are reproductions of famous paintings, others are portraits, and the rest are miscellaneous themes. In the reproduction category one can recognise some of the masters, including Rubens and Van Gogh, as well as popular Orientalist work. Among the titles are Smoker, Samson and Delilah, Madame Rimsky-Korsakov, Roman Girl, Woman on a Wall, Wheat Fields, Pearl Earring, Starry Night, Safiya, Gamila at Work, and Flora. In portraits, Romani offers 10 portraits of local and international figures: the writer Naguib Mahfouz, the actor Omar Sharif, the singer Fayrouz, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, the actor Robert de Niro, the talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey and Albert Einstein. Miscellaneous works include Cleopatra, The Ballerina, Soul of Music, Theatre, and the Arabian Horse. Since he started preparing for this exhibition 18 years ago Romani has only produced 38 pieces -- at the rate of two pieces or so every year. Now he sees this as a dream come true. As he addressed the audience at the opening I contemplated the immensity of his accomplishment. Then I heard him thank his family, who had to put up with his obsession and his long working hours for so many years. Fayza Abdel-Moneim, head of the Plastic Art Department of the Ministry of Culture, said the dedication of Romani's family was what made this exhibition possible. Romani is a disciple of a long art tradition. Mosaics are a proud legacy of many people across the world and also across time. The artist, or school of artists, who produced King Tutankhamun's mask and jewellery must have been adept in the art of making minuscule mosaics. Mosaic floors have been found in villas in every area the Romans colonised, including Egypt. And to this day visitors to St Peter's in the Vatican can appreciate exquisite samples of this indelible form of art. A wonderful examples of mosaic have also survived in Aya Sofia in Istanbul. Mosaics were historically connected with architecture, Romani says. The material used was often natural rock and stone mixed in a variety of colours to allow the artist to depict figures of mythical beings, animals and plants, usually on a floor. The common colours were red, blue and yellow, but orange, green and purple were also essential. An heir to a long tradition of Egyptian art, Romani knows that he is working in a medium that has historically defied the ravages of time. As thus, he is a protagonist of eternity, a man with a claim on immortality.
