Rania Khallaf takes off her sunglasses to enjoy the glare "Summer Selections" could be the title on an end-of-season sale in a fashion store, but this belies the idea of preparing for a winter wardrobe. Rather, it is the last exhibition of this summer season at Gallery Misr, one of the newest and most progressive art galleries in Zamalek. The word "summer" in Egypt yields many interpretations. The most obvious of these must be the extra hot and humid weather. It also brings to mind images of the coast, holidaymakers in swimsuits and fresh cold drinks. However none of these images are to be seen in the relatively small-sized gallery. Most of paintings focus on the human figure, with the recurrent theme being women in various poses. To artist Hend Adnan, thoughts of summer conjure the image of a sad young woman wearing a red gown. The portraits might be self-portraits of the artist in moments of boredom, a condition that settles on many women during the summer season. They are, at the very least, honest and sincere in their reflections of female sensitivity. Ibrahim El-Desouki's beautiful paintings represent a deeper attempt to illustrate women's boredom, fragility and isolation. Black and white sketches in pencil or oil on paper of a middle-aged woman lying languidly on a sofa depicts the tedious and repetitive rituals of life for a leisured class. Walid Taher's two paintings are the real surprise of the exhibition. Taher, who has become famous for his brilliantly funny caricatures and illustrations for various publications and book covers, appears this time as the superstar of the exhibition. His use of acrylics and the transference of the most beloved and recurrent item in his works, the cat, to a larger space, calls for great admiration. The blue cats, with their thin, elongated bodies and the background of white buildings and earthy coloured ground, bring to mind the works of pioneer painter Hamed Nada and his illustrations of the unique atmosphere of popular cafes and alley ways in Cairo. In another painting in mixed media on canvas, a violinist with his long, twisted arm resembles Taher's amusing and lazy cats. A sense of melancholy dominates, and helps evoke sad memories of summer days. Essam Marrouf's paintings of other blue creatures bring to mind an instant, glimpse of blue water. This time the figures, painted with acrylic on linen, perfectly imitate a woman coming out of the water. The paintings are delicately portrayed and infuse in the audience the sense of an overwhelming beauty and a joyful celebration of the human body. Amr El-Kafrawi's huge graphic paintings are hazy, monochrome depictions of buildings in Downtown Cairo. Painted in 2012, a few months after the revolution, the work reveals Kafrawi's vision of the great changes in the Downtown area, especially after the revolution which grew and flourished in its streets. The works show that this young artist has a promising future. Ahmed Talaat's huge coloured truck, which resembles an army truck, is an amusing exception to the general pattern. Painted on a large scale in acrylic on canvas, it is adorned with a phrase commonly seen on the front of trucks: "Patience is a good thing". The truck brings to mind the hairy experience of travelling to a summer vacation spot and the risk to life and limb on the road. "The exhibition celebrates the departure of summer in a new way," says Mohamed Talaat, a young painter and the co-owner and organiser of the Misr Gallery. Talaat himself has directed several artistic governmental events and cultural organisations. "Summer Selections", which definitely deserves a visit, runs until 15 September, the alleged end of the summer season in Egypt. Talaat worked as a programmer at the General Administration of Arts Centres of the Sector of Fine Arts, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. He was also director of the Palace of Fine Arts, part of the Ministry of Culture from 2006 to 2011 when he started his own venture. Gallery Misr boasts a progressive position among other galleries in Egypt. "Our policy depends on many pillars, the most important of which is to discover and encourage new talents and give a chance to and allow for new challenges for the young generation of artists," Talaat told Al-Ahram Weekly. Misr Gallery also aims to enhance partnership with similar local galleries and art centres, and others in the Arab region such as the Visual Arts Centre in Qatar, in order to sponsor a bigger-scale artistic exhibitions and projects. The winter season at Gallery Misr promises many outstanding exhibitions, among which are "Cairo Streets" scheduled in December 2012 and "The Political Shift in Egypt" scheduled for February 2013. In between these there will be solo exhibitions for talented young artists. All art lovers are now waiting eagerly for the end of the hot summer days, especially knowing that winter season will bring a fully loaded artistic agenda.
