Dalloul Art Foundation

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ADEL EL SIWI ADEL EL SIWI

ADEL EL SIWI, Egypt (1952)

Bio

Born in 1952 in Beheira, Egypt, Adel El Siwi is a doctor, an influential contemporary artist, and translator. Abiding by his family’s will, he enrolled in 1970 at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo...

Born in 1952 in Beheira, Egypt, Adel El Siwi is a doctor, an influential contemporary artist, and translator. Abiding by his family’s will, he enrolled in 1970 at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University and graduated in 1976. However, simultaneously during the years 1974 till 1975, he attended art courses at the Faculty of Arts of the same university. In 1980 he moved to Milan, Italy, where he lived and worked for a decade before moving back to Cairo. 

In his intricate paintings, El Siwi challenges the value system that gives greater worth to a physician than to a painter. He chooses the human figure as a central theme to his work, a subject he had explored in and out. It is evident that El Siwi has mastered the human anatomy, but more importantly, he underscores the orbiting soul around it. His dissection process involves a sensible effort to create masks that interfere with the figurative elements. Mostly known for his monumental figures and peculiar elongated faces, El Siwi examines the strange relationship between animals and the human being in most of his works.

Mythological kings, famous Egyptian singers, animals of all kinds, along with overused themes, such as a flower vase or a palm tree, are all presented by El Siwi as iconic figures, each in its own right. His characters transform into Pharos in a private world. Though colorful, his paintings are restrained to monochromes inspired by the Egyptian desert landscape. Equipped with an alluring luminosity, and a sensual feel, El Siwi’s longitudinal figures are reminiscent of those found in paintings created by Austrian painter Gustave Klimt. In addition to his career as a visual artist, El Siwi has translated numerous art historical texts into Arabic by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Paul Klee.

Adel El Siwi lives and works in Cairo.

This is a short biography. The full version , along with research, CV and sources will be posted soon. Stay tuned and visit us often or become a member to be notified of our updates.

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CV

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024

Adel el Siwi: Charisma, Errm artgallery, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2017

In the presence of the Animal, Mashrabia Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
The Face and beyond, Artspace Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2015

Artspace Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2013

Inception Gallery, Paris, France
Artspace Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2012

Artspace Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2010

The Fables, Horizon One Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2009

Contemporary Icons, Artspace Gallery, Dubai, Unite Arab Emirates

2008

Au delà du visage, Le Violon Bleu, Tunisia, Tunis

2007

Siwi Faces, Artspace, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2006

My stars, Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt
Espace Karim Francis, Cairo, Egypt

2005

French Cultural Center, Alexandria, Egypt

2004

Atassi Gallery, Damascus, Syria
Agial Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2003

Ammar Farhat Gallery, Tunisia, Tunis
Al Riwaq Gallery, Manama, Bahrain

1999

Akhnaton Gallery, Center of Arts, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt
Vision Egyptienne d’Eternité, Ville d’Agde, France

1996

Egyptian Academy, Rome, Italy

1995

Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt

1993

Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt

Epreuve d’Artiste, Beirut, Lebanon

1992

Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt

1990

Papiry Gallery, Berlin, Germany

Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt

1989

Koreuber Gallery, Berlin, Germany

1988

Mashrabia Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

1987

Cairo Atelier, Cairo, Egypt

1985

Cairo Atelier, Cairo, Egypt

1980

Cairo Atelier, Cairo, Egypt

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

The Collector´s Eye XI, Ubuntu Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2023

Crossroads: A Collector’s Tale, Picasso Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2019

The 29thLetter Of The Alphabet, Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo,Egypt

2017

Eternal Light: Something Old, Something New, Art D’Egypte, Cairo, Egypt

2016

Debunking Orientalism, Syra Arts, Cairo, Egypt

2015

SYRA Arts, New York, United States of America

2014

Contemporary Egyptian Art, Egyptian Academy, Rome, Italy

2012

25 years of Contemporary Arab Art, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France

2009

Helga Hoffman Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The 53rdInternational Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

2008

The Other, The 10thCairo International Art Biennale, Cairo, Egypt
Arabia Italia, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, United States of America
Word into Art – Artists of the Middle East: Traveling exhibition, The British Museum,Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Mediterranean Trilogy, Palais des Arts, Marseille, France

2007

Occidentalism: Contemporary Artists From Egypt, Hotel Suisse, Cairo, Egypt

2005

Mashrabia Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
Fonoon Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
Espace Karim Francis, Cairo Egypt

2003

Arab paintings for Children, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Human Face in Contemporary Egyptian Art, Bibliotheca Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt

2002

Ateliers Arabes, UNESCO Hall, Beirut, Lebanon
18 International artists: Homage to King Henry IV, Lyon, France

2001

Contemporary Art in Egypt, Mexico City, Mexico

2000

Italian – Egyptian Contemporary Art Confrontation, Gezira Art Center, Cairo, Egypt
Trans African Art, Orlando Museum of Modern Art, Florida, United States of America

1999

A la nuit tombée, Grenoble, France
12 Contemporary Egyptian Artists, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France

1998

Bellektin – Moderling, DolmabachiCultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey
Days of Kom Ghorab, Hanager Art Center, Opera House, Cairo, Egypt

1997

Contemporary Egyptian Art, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
Sans Frontières, Gallery Micheline Fallet, Geneva, Switzerland
Alexandria International Art Biennale, Alexandria, Egypt
Modernities and Memories: Recent works from the Islamic WorldThe 47thVenice Biennale, Venice, Italy

1996

The 23rdBiennale of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
The 6thInternational Cairo Art Biennale, Cairo, Egypt

1995

Lexus Hall, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
International Institute for Commerce, Mexico City, Mexico

1994

Rencontres Africaines, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
National Gallery, Johannesburg, Cape town, South Africa
British Council, Cairo, Egypt

1993

Modern Art Museum, New Delhi, India

1986

Foreign Artists in Italy, Palazzo Innocenti, Florence, Italy

Affiliations & Memberships

1997

Member of the Supreme Council pf Culture, Cairo, Egypt

Collections

Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
The Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Greater Cairo Library, Cairo, Egypt
Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, Cairo, Egypt
Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt
Kinda Foundation, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunia, Tunis
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
The British Museum, London, United Kingdom

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Press
عادل السيوي في حضرة الحيوان.pdf
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عادل السيوى_ أتعرض لمحاولة نصب فى انتساب طفلة لى - اليوم السابع.pdf
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عادل السيوي - Dusk & Dawn.pdf
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البوابة نيوز_ في حضرة الحيوان معرض جديد للفنان التشكيلي عادل السيوي.pdf
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Slash-Paris.pdf
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Alquds Newspaper.pdf
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الحياة - عادل السيوي في عالم الحيوان ... بعين تشكيلية جديدة.pdf
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HauteLiving.com.pdf
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Emirates247.pdf
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BabelMed.pdf
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جريدة الدستور_ عادل السيوى.. وطفلة فان جوخ المجهولة!.pdf
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شهادة ميلاد وقضية نفقة_ والدة ديالا عادل السيوي ستستكمل حقوق ابنتها بعد إثبات النسب _ المنصة.pdf
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البوابة نيوز_ في حضرة الحيوان معرض جديد للفنان التشكيلي عادل السيوي.pdf
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Videos
Expositions à l'IMA - Le corps découvert
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Exhibitions
ETERNAL LIGHT- SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Eternal Light – London Edition
E-Mois Autobiographie d’une collection.
Le Corps découvert

ADEL EL SIWI Artwork

The Mask

ADEL EL SIWI, Egypt, 2005
90 x 66 cm

The Guard

ADEL EL SIWI, Egypt, 2008
95 x 75 cm

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