Exhibitions featured in
Materials
oil on board
27.5 x 22.2cm; 10 5/8 x 8 3/4in
47.4 x 42.4cm; 18 5/8 x 16 5/8in (framed)
Located in
LondonLOT 18IBRAHIM EL DESSOUKI (EGYPTIAN B.1969)UNTITLEDsigned and dated Ibrahim El dessouki 09 lower left
oil on board
27.5 x 22.2cm; 10 5/8 x 8 3/4in
47.4 x 42.4cm; 18 5/8 x 16 5/8in (framed)
Property of a Lady, London
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Estimate
£3,000 – £5,000
Buyer’s premium: 25.00% + VAT
Husband of Hend Adnan (see lot 19), El Dessouki was born in Cairo and served as a Professor of Painting at the University of Fine Arts in Cairo from 1992 to 2017. During this period, he transitioned into a full-time painter.
El Dessouki was immersed in a rich cultural environment, coming from a family of artists with a keen interest in literature, translation, and Egyptology. His father, Fahmi El Dessouki and mother Atyat Sayed were well-known, established Egyptian expressionist painters and free-thinking intellectuals, and both greatly influenced the artist that Ibrahim had become. This upbringing shaped his varied expertise, which ranges from press illustration to translating literary and artistic critique, as well as contributing to archaeological findings.
He earned his Master’s Degree in 1997 with a thesis on The School of London and British Painting since 1945, followed by a PhD in 2003 focusing on Dynamics in Painting.
El Dessouki’s artistic practice is characterised by his exploration of diverse themes and techniques, predominantly in oil painting. He employs methods such as layering colours, and scraping surfaces with different tools to uncover hidden depths. Manipulating light and shadow, he juxtaposes intricate detail with flat expanses of negative space. El Dessouki’s approach alternates between strict adherence to perspective and deliberate disregard for it, resulting in a harmonious composition. Much of his art documents and reflects upon Egyptian life, often revealing subtle perspectives through colour and structure. He is particularly well known for his luminous, beguiling studies of the female figure, either solo, as seen here, or in groups.
El Dessouki has exhibited widely in both the Middle East and Europe, including an exhibition at Bousheri Gallery, Kuwait (2012); the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France (2008); Art Sawa gallery, Dubai, UAE (2009); and Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain (2014). His work was also featured in the 10th Cairo International Biennale in 2006 and El Diriyah Biennale in 2021, and is included in the collections of the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art in Cairo and the Arab Museum of Contemporary Art in Qatar. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Egyptian state prize for excellence in arts in 2019.
