From Still to Life - Yasser Rostom

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From Still to Life

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From Still to Life OPENING RECEPTION F E B R U A R Y 2 7 TH 2 0 1 8 EXHIBITION F E B R U A R Y 2 7 TH M A R C H 2 5 TH 2 0 1 8

From Still to Life

by Chérine Chafik

Thirty drawings inspired by Rostom’s frequent visits to ballet performances in Holland constitute ‘Between Still and Live’, Rostom’s second solo exhibition at ArtTalks Gallery.

Rostom mentally recorded the seen movements and kept vivid memories that served in the out of the ordinary execution of the dancers’ steps, as he drew them with ink on paper in a widely imaginative and surreal mode.

If every dance could speak about every spectator’s vision and sensation, what would it say? Degas finely depicted ballerinas with mastery in a realist brush. Toulouse-Lautrec captured the exuberant energy of Paris night life.

The Egyptian Wanly brothers caught Egypt during its belle époque. Rostom, on the other hand, shares visions within the realm of art between “still” and “live.” It is not only what the audience perceives in the movements and steps, but what this all could imply within the current turbulent socio-political environment. The dance fusion brings out and symbolizes the engulfed animal in all of us as our source of emotions. Departing from a purely academic sight of ballet, Rostom goes all the way in the direction of core sensuality, both in what the dancers have to deeply feel and in what captures the spectators inside, making the visual sphere closer than close. Suddenly, we are invited inside the fury of the dancers; we are not watching but rather living the dance. The soul that emanates from the dancer or the beast inside the dancer reinforces the sense of bodily contact in art, literature, and life as a whole.

More importantly perhaps, Rostom blends western ballet

with oriental moments, depicting extravagant belly dancers, authentic Arabs in their galabeyas dancing to the rhythm of their wooden sticks, or the whirling dervishes with their long Sufi traditions. Mixing between ancient Egyptian art with its statuesque postures and the art of modern dancing, Rostom excels in his surrealist imagination to defy the status quo of the Old against the New, the East in connection to the West.

A master of the pen and ink technique, he draws his whimsical figures in surreal backgrounds to convey enthralling messages and emotions, mixing icons and symbols to challenge the mind with a critical view on our world. Combining his Pharaonic formal training with themes about myth, power, mankind and animals make his work powerful, intriguing, and certainly provide some highly needed food for thought material.

Born in 1971, Yasser Rostom is a Cairo-based surrealist artist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Helwan University and obtained his Masters degree in Ancient Egyptian Art. Rightly referred to as ‘The Arab Dali’ of the 21 st century, Rostom, established his unique style of flamboyant imagery merged with ancient histories to provide a surreal interpretation of the insanely decadent world we live in today.

Chainés Ink & gouache on paper 130 x 70 cm 2017

Balançoire Ink & gouache on paper 130 x 100 cm 2017

Allegro Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

Glissade Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

Adiago Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

Pas De Cheval Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

ChassĂŠ Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

Supplication Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

El Moulid Ink & gouache on paper 130 x 100 cm 2017

El Tahtiib Ink & gouache on paper 130 x 100 cm 2017

Danseurs Nobles Ink & gouache on paper 100 x 70 cm 2017

Épaulé Ink & gouache on paper 130 x 100 cm 2017

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From Still to Life Catalogue Published on the occasion of the show From Still to Life Rostom 27th February 2018 ArtTalks | Egypt Coordinators Lisa Lounis Cherine Chafik Graphic Concept & Realization Omar Mobarek Text ChĂŠrine Chafik Photographs Rostom Printing Concorde Press

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