CAIRO: Under the patronage of Philippe Coste, French ambassador to Egypt, the Contemporary Flowers exhibition opened on June 12 at the Opera Music Library in the Cairo Opera House. Still life, and specifically flower artwork, is French artist Veronique Abbal's favorite themes, as they allow her feminine sensitivities and delicate sense of colors to flourish. The Opera Music Library has turned into a spectacular exhibition of floral artwork, as Abbal has filled it with her magnificent pieces of art. She has adopted a floral theme for this specific showing because of her affiliation for and love of nature. Abbal expresses her interests in flowers by devoting the entire exhibition solely to the topic. Abbal, a self-taught artist, has been painting for over 15 years. In 1995 Abbal started training as a professional artist, and after living in France, Abbal moved to Egypt with her family in 2002 and held her first exhibition in May 2005 at the World of Art Gallery. The exhibition's success encouraged Abbal to set up her second showing in September of that year. Contemporary Flowers is Abbal's third art exhibition, in which she has chosen acrylic paint for the first time instead of watercolors. In her paintings Abbal has focused primarily on the red spectrum, infusing a bright, energetic feel to the gallery. Painting different kinds of flowers, ranging from roses to tulips and irises, has lent a sense of purification to the place. Abbal explains how her paintings of tulips are "her very private collection. What is unique about Abbal's artwork is that she has been able to split one painting onto more than one canvas, with each piece of work incomplete without its counterparts. Not only did the French artist use acrylic paint for her artwork, but she also incorporated different materials that add diverse depths and thickness to the paintings, making them standout more. "I really like the atmosphere, there are a lot of vibrant colors and it seems like the flowers are dancing around us . There is a happy warm feeling, said Christine Therond, one of those visiting the exhibition. There was an obvious exchange of cultures taking place at the exhibition, as French art was being exposed to Egyptian society. Moreover, the opening was attended by a diverse range of nationalities, from French and Egyptian to Swiss and British. It was quite a spectacular evening as the exchange of knowledge between Western and Eastern cultures was taking place at its highest level. Abbal hopes that people enjoy her pieces of art and hopes to continue growing in her field.
