Adel El Siwi

Adel El Siwi is a self-taught painter who began his career as an artist in 1979 and is known for his work with the figure, compiled from Egyptian art history and African folk art. He moved to Milan, Italy, in 1980—the elongated, dramatic faces of his figures and his use of gold leaf were inspired by the Renaissance painters he encountered in the city. When he moved back to Cairo in 1990, his interest shifted to the disillusionment of state control and political corruption, looking toward Ancient Egyptian art, mythology, and fables to highlight the depth of social injustice. The pharaohs and barely perceivable faces he illustrated, often generated in series, are dramatic references of the ways in which greed and cruelty remain despite the revolutions of time.  

El Siwi has exhibited at Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Modern Art Museum, Cape Town, National Gallery, Johannesburg, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, The Arab World Institute, Paris, Orlando Museum of Modern Art, Florida, and the Egyptian Academy, Rome, among many others. The artist participated in the Venice Biennale in 2009 and 1997, Cairo Biennale in 2008 and 1996, and the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1996, among others.