It is quite daunting, really, to entertain the prospect of reviewing an exhibition of works by such a giant. The only comfortable, and possible, way of doing so is temporarily to dissociate the artist's name from the artworks and contemplate them solely for what they are: works of art. At the Al-Masar Gallery in Zamalek, that is precisely what happened on the inauguration of the exhibition displaying the work of Hussein Youssef Amin (1904-1984). Arriving a little earlier than the scheduled opening time, and being granted entry on account of my profession, I was able to roam the halls freely before the arrival of minister of culture Farouk Hosny, members of the late Amin's family and the plethora of artists and critics who were to partake in this memorable occasion: the first such collection to be displayed in 50 years. One of the pioneers of the 20th-century modern art movement and founder of the Contemporary Art Group in 1946, Hussein Youssef Amin's work is a veritable watershed in the history of Egyptian art. Determined to counter the romantic and unrealistic representations of Egypt inherited from the influence of the orientalists -- diluted but still existent in the 1940s -- Amin set out on a celebration of local tradition, capturing the authenticity and uniqueness of commonplace, fleeting moments through painterly representations, as well as enmeshing his work with figurative details deeply ingrained in the popular psyche. This Fauvist painter's philosophy was simple: "No art without knowledge, no knowledge without school, and no school without proper education and a suitable family home." The last word, home, upon which he constructs his entire artistic theory, echoes as loudly from the composition of his canvases as it clearly did from his yearning to "Egyptianise" the entire artistic movement. Excellently placed at the exhibition, the first set of works on display that immediately greet the visitor on entering are pencil drawings on paper, metaphorically alluding to the skeleton, the essence, of the artist's vision before he "fleshed out" his subjects with paint and colour. The sharp facial bone structures of his semi-nude models are oblong and elongated; their bodies thin and proudly erect, and they stand in stark contrast with the voluptuous, languorous and indolent women of orientalist perceptions. Although in visible movement and often depicted in company, his female subjects are secluded from one another in intangible, yet overwhelmingly manifest, independence and uniqueness. Whether they are caught with another female or with a male, each woman is a world unto herself, unmistakably severed and isolated. This quality is particularly evident in a series of oils on canvas depicting Nubian dancers with various musicians who invariably lean toward the women, whisper in their ears, directly address them in posture and expression, while the women's gaze remains fixed before them, unconquerable. Amin's women are not pretty, but they are beautiful -- they are Egypt as he saw her. This important exhibition also features a number of works by other prominent members of the Contemporary Art Group. The fascinating paintings of Abdel-Hadi El-Gazzar (1925- 1966), which continue to puzzle and inspire artists around the world, become all the more distinctive when displayed alongside his colleagues' works from the same group. His paintings reflect such a mysterious mysticism that a certain spiritual energy seems to permeate the very pigment. The son of a sheikh, El-Gazzar's upbringing in Al-Sayeda Zeinab provided the earth in which the fruit of his creative genius could flourish, while the moulid, zars, dervishes and myths of the area all found such a deep resonance within this artist's perceptions that they became the bottomless well that continually watered his inspiration. In sharp contrast to El-Gazzar's silent depictions of an impregnable world of unfathomable mystic forces stand Salem El-Habashi's loud and nightmarish Dali-esque depictions of confusion and torment. Surreal and meticulously detailed with painstaking accuracy, his drawings are commentaries on achievement, technology, scientific discovery and their inevitable results on the human psyche. A desolate owl symbolising wisdom is perched on a breaking wooden wheel -- the oldest human invention -- while a stream of images denotes the ravages of time: objects melt, hearts turn metallic, and eyes are red, as if their minutest capillaries were ready to weep blood on the paper. The agony here is as explosive as the serenity in El-Gazzar's paintings is implosive -- another fabulous choice of display on the part of the exhibition's curators. Samir Rafie (1926-2004), another member of the group and Hussein Youssef Amin's student, who later was drawn to surrealism under the tutelage of George Henein and became a member of the Art and Liberty Group, relies on lines, symbols and iconic styles to tell his version of reality. A flower, a candle, "the ladder and the scorpion", are all so decontextualised and magnified that their symbolic significance inevitably absorbs the onlooker's attention until whatever meaning these objects may have transcends their limiting forms, searching for a metaphysical dimension. Artist, thinker, philosopher and writer, Rafie's artistic repertoire was an echo of his political and ideological melancholy. Among the most outstanding of Egyptian printmakers, Maher Raef (1926-1999) created innovative techniques for cameo and intaglio 12 years before obtaining his PhD in the history and philosophy of fine art from the University of Cologne, Germany. His pastel "The Musicians" renders evident his discernment of heritage as a vibrant, endless and impermeable entity, without beginning or end, and manifested in a palette of rich and saturated colours, the roundness of the figures, their enlarged hands and shrouded faces. "Remembered", the title of the exhibition, is designed to honour and rever these departed members of the Contemporary Art Group, who sowed seeds that have yielded countless fruits by the numerous artists who have followed in their footsteps. Satisfaction in the self, the celebration of identity, and the fortification of authenticity are at the core of this splendid collection of Egyptian art. Al-Masar Gallery, Baehler's Mansion, 157, 26th July St, Zamalek. Saturday-Thursday, 11am-9pm, until 21 March.
