BOUTROS-GHALI BRITT
Britt Boutros-Ghali, the distinguished Norwegian artist whose creations since the 1950s have embodied abstract expressionism and color field painting. For the past 50 years, she has made Egypt her home, where her captivating works have enchanted the eyes and minds of art enthusiasts, collectors, and curators globally. A formidable presence in Middle Eastern art collections, Britt is widely considered as one of the most important artists living in Egypt. We are excited to bring this celebrated artist who started her career in Europe back to the West.
Cover image:
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
56 x 48 in. (140 x 120 cm)
Left:
Britt in her garden with her mosaics, Agami, Egypt 2023
BRITT BOUTROS-GHALI, 1937
Britt, the celebrated Norwegian abstract expressionist artist, has spent the last five decades living and working in Egypt where she is an integral part of the country’s artistic community. Her art, characterized by vibrant colors and large scale energetic paintings draws inspiration from Egypt’s rich and exotic culture. Employing “action painting”, her work embodies a sense of spontaneity and creativity coming from within.
Britt divides her time between Cairo and Agami, maintaining studios in both locations. Her residence and studio in Agami, situated west of Alexandria along Egypt’s northern coast, reflect her deep affection for the region. The space in itself is a living piece of art, adorned with her crafted intricate mosaics and murals. Local artists, collectors, and individuals with a penchant for the unique frequently gather at her home, while art enthusiasts from around the world make the journey to meet her and acquire her work.
Britt has been exhibited around the world since her first exhibition in Paris in 1962 and is held in many public and private collections. In 1996, she received the prestigious St. Olav’s Order, Norway’s highest artistic honor, from King Harald for her cultural and artistic contributions. In 2023 she received a lifetime achievement award for women in the arts from the Egyptian government, a significant recognition in her adopted homeland.
Born in 1937 in Svolvaer, Norway, Britt is equally influenced by her childhood experiences, marked by the stark seasonal contrasts of light and darkness, harsh weather, and the backdrop of World War II.
Contact: Lydia Duanmu lydia.duanmu@traffic-nyc.com v + 1 516 732-3862 + 86 13911213384
Follow Britt on Instagram: @brittboutrosghali Journey Within, 2023 Oil, oil sticks, pigments and graphite on canvas
“For my painting process I always start by putting all my colors around me. Then I just let things happen. I really don’t have any idea of what I’m going to do. Everything to start feels a little chaotic and then I slowly make order from the chaos and give it structure. Sometimes I’m not even aware of what I’m doing.” —BBG
Untitled (no 28-023) Red, 2023
Oil, oil sticks, pigments and graphite on canvas 72 x 112 in. (180 x 280 cm)
In an intimate conversation between two women whose lives are intertwined by art, Britt, the renowned artist celebrated for her evocative use of color and form, speaks with her daughter, Michelle Edelman of TrafficArts, who has dedicated her career to supporting and promoting artists and creative talent. Today, they come together not just as family, but as collaborators in the art world, ready to delve into their shared passion, the inspirations behind Britt’s work, and the unique dynamic that bridges their professional and personal lives. A dialogue rich with insight, reflection, and the deep connection that only a mother and daughter can share.
Michelle: I’m so excited to have this conversation with you. I’m thinking of the questions that people often want to ask and know about you and your work. It always starts with, what inspires you?
Britt: I think it’s the search for the perfect painting. As an action painter I work energetically, and once the painting is finished, I think, wow, this is beautiful. But then I’ll come back to it later and think how I can I do it better. This is what keeps driving me. It is an energy or maybe an affliction to keep reaching further. I inspire myself.
ME: What is the favorite part of your day?
BBG: At night in my studio when it’s absolutely quiet and everything is still.
ME: What do you avoid?
BBG: I avoid conflict.
ME: What can you not live without?
BBG: So many things. Being around people who make me feel loved and comfortable. Friends and Family.
ME: When was your first creative moment?
BBG: When I was about 9 or 10 years old in school, I did a caricature of my teacher. And then all my friends wanted me to do theirs. I was always drawing and sketching my friends.
And then much later, when I came to Paris, I was 18, and all my friends who were South American artists were abstract painters and it opened up my thoughts and made me feel free.
ME: What is your creative process?
BBG: I feel the discipline of working is the most important thing for me. I’m in the studio everyday no matter how I feel. I’ll wake up in the morning, I’ll swim, and then I’ll go to my studio. I’ll have lunch at 3 pm, then a siesta until 6 pm, and then I’ll paint from 6-10 pm.
For my painting process I always start by putting all my colors around me. Then I just let things happen. I really don’t have any idea of what I’m going
to do. Everything to start feels a little chaotic and then I slowly make order from the chaos and give it structure. Sometimes I’m not even aware of what I’m doing.
Starting with an empty canvas, I kind of blank out all my thoughts, all the problems, and everything that occupies my mind. And then I just take the first color that is closest to me and it just goes from there. It’s like I almost go into a trance in my work. This happens more and more as I get older. That’s why I can do a huge painting in a day.
ME: Does spirituality tie into your creative process:
BBG: I do feel like I’m being guided. For me the work must feel good energetically and have a soul—then knowing that it will eventually live in peoples’ homes and will pass on that energy to them.
ME: Who has inspired you, both in work and beyond?
BBG: There are so many! I’m very inspired by Gustav Klimt. I love the decadence and embellishment he used in his work, and how he is unappologetic with regards to being decorative. In contemporary art even the word decorative is frowned upon—but I love that. What I see around me every day inspires me.
ME: In one word, what brought you to Egypt?
BBG: Love
ME: How has living in Egypt (for so many years) influenced your work and your overall vision?
BBG: It has given me the feeling of safety and being loved. That is for me so important.
ME: Being originally from Northern Norway, how does your childhood and early experiences play into your artistic journey?
BBG: The drama in my abstract work comes from the North. Storms. I was always longing to get out. I never felt I belonged there.
ME: What is your greatest indulgence?
BBG: My glass of wine!
Every Friday I go to Delice in Alexandria for cake—it’s so delicious, it’s obnoxious.
ME: If you could invite anyone in the world and in history to join you for dinner, who would you invite?
BBG: Beethoven (to see what was behind all this) and Knut Hamsun.
ME: Do you believe in magical thinking?
BBG: Definitely. I think that what you put your mind to, what you dream can come true if you let it. I found that very often the thing that you really want to happen and you kind of say it out loud, put it into the universe, then it usually comes to you. I really believe that we create ourselves from our thoughts. So, you have to be very careful what you think about!
ME: What do you wish for people to experience from your work?
BBG: I want people to feel a sense of beauty, and also peace with my work, and then to be excited and moved, because they constantly find new things in it. I also want people to feel transported from the out-
side world, where things are complicated, stressful, with war and suffering. I don’t want to paint suffering, there’s too much of that in the world already. I want the paintings to be healing.
ME: Do you have an overriding philosophy that guides you and drives you?
BBG: Yes, I believe that what you give out comes back to you. I think we have to be very very generous, kind, and humble, and to always be there to help if you can. I think that’s so important, especially in our times now.
ME: What is on your bucket list?
BBG: It’s interesting, I feel I have so little time, so I don’t want to move from my studio. I just want to work. Which is what I do about ten hours a day. I don’t know, I just feel so so blessed every day. I’m so thankful.
by Hassan Ghonim
Britt working in her studio in Agami, Egypt, 2024.
Photography
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
59 x 55 in. (150 x 140 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
60 x 52 in. (150 x 133 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
60 x 52 in. (150 x 133 cm)
Untitled, 2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
62 x 49 in. (155 x 123 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas 74 x 52 in. (188 x 133 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
72 x 49 in. (180 x 123 cm)
Untitled Poppies, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas 60 x 54 in. (150 x 135 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil, oil sticks, pigments and graphite on canvas 59 x 78 in. (150 x 200 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
112 x 60 in. (280 x 150 cm)
Britt on her studio terrace, 2024 Agami, Egypt
Untitled (no 52-023), 2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
60 x 48 in. (150 x 120 cm)
Last Summer Dance, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas 40 x 50 in. (100 x 125 cm)
Untitled, 2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
50 x 40 in. (100 x 125 cm)
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
52 x 41 in. (133 x 106 cm)
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
52 x 76 in. (130 x 190 cm)
Untitled (Wildfire), 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
50 x 40 in. (125 x 100 cm)
Mosaics by Britt outside her atelier, Agamy, Egypt, 2023
Untitled, 2023
Oil, oil sticks, pigments and graphite on canvas 73 x 73 in. (183 x 183 cm)
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
68 x 118 in. (170 X 295 cm)
Untitled, 2024
Oil and acrylic on canvas
60 x 51 in. (150 x 130 cm)
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
48 x 40 in. (120 x 100 cm)
Untitled, 2024
Oil, oil sticks, pigments and graphite on canvas
16 x 16 in. (40 x 40 cm)
Untitled, 2024 Oil and acrylic on canvas
47 x 39 in. (120 x 100 cm)
Public Collections and Honors
Marwa Mansour Collection
Coca Cola Collection
Mercedes Benz Collection
Museum of Modern & Contemporary Arab Art, Doha, Qatar
Museum of Modern Art, Cairo, Egypt
Queen Noor, Museum of Modern Art, Aman, Jourdan
Norsk Hydro Collection
Kunst og Industrie Museum, Trondheim, Norway
Church of Norway, Alta, Norway
Catholic Church of Bavaria, Germany
Galerie Nord Norge Private Collection—Permanent Installation
Saltstrømmen Art Center- Permanent Installation
Hardanger and Voss Museum, Utne, Norway
Galeri Nord Norge, Harstad, Permanent Installation
Galeri Kvale Hammerfest, Permanent Installation
Kranes Galeri, Tromso, Permanent Installation
Galeri Vesterålen, Sortland, Norway—Permanent Installation
Paletten, Harstad, Norway—Permanent Installation
St. Olavs Order in the Arts, 1996
Presented by King Harald of Norway
Slovak Presidential Order for Art and Culture, 2010
Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in the Arts, Egyptian Government, 2023
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
56 x 52 in. (140 x 130 cm)
Britt’s studio, Cairo, 2019
Untitled, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas
62 x 49 in. (155 x 123 cm)
Britt’s studio lies 60 km west of Alexandria in the town of Agami, Egypt.
Britt in her Cairo studio, 2023
TRAFFICARTS
Lydia Duanmu
Phone: + 1 212 734 0041 + 1 (516) 732-3862 + 86 13911213384
Email: lydia.duanmu@traffic-nyc.com
https://www.traffic-nyc.com/artists/britt-boutros-ghali
All artwork included in this catalog are the copyright of Britt Boutros-Ghali © 2024. Catalog design by TRAFFICARTS www.traffic-nyc.com
