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BRITT BOUTROS-GHALI

Britt Boutros-Ghali, a distinguished painter following in the tradition of the Abstract Expressionist and Color Field pioneers such as Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler, brings to her practice the authority of a long and distinguished career, during which she has cultivated a highly individual mode of abstraction grounded in consistency, rigor, and a sustained dedication to her own language of form, color and materials. Britt was born in 1937 in Svolvær, Norway, where the intense saturation of summer light stands in stark contrast to the profound darkness of winter. She grew up amid the harsh climate and the formidable pressures of the Second World War. This early emotional and environmental landscape would later inform the vitality, chromatic intensity, and expressive force that define her work. Britt has spent the past five decades living and working in Egypt, where she has become an integral presence within the country’s artistic community. Her work — marked by her vibrant large-scale, and energetic compositions — draws subtle nourishment from Egypt’s layered visual culture, light, and landscape. When describing her work, she refers to herself as an action painter. Her canvases embody both immediacy and intention, balancing spontaneity with a deeply internalized discipline.

The physicality of her practice is central to its impact. Britt’s seasoned command of material allows structure and gesture to coexist: while each composition is grounded in a methodical underlying framework, the surface unfolds with expressive freedom. The outcome is neither accidental nor predetermined, but the result of a sustained dialogue between artist, her internal world, and medium, in which the inherent nature of the materials is allowed to reveal its own complexities. Since her first exhibition in Paris in 1962, Britt has exhibited internationally and her work is held in numerous public and private collections. In 1996, she was awarded the Order of St. Olav by King Harald V of Norway in recognition of her cultural and artistic contributions — one of Norway’s highest honors. In 2023, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in the Arts from the Egyptian government, a significant acknowledgment from her adopted homeland that further affirmed the enduring relevance and rising recognition of her work.

Cover image: Untitled, 2024 (No 103-024) Acrylic on canvas 147 x 147 cm (58 x 58 in.) Left Image: Britt in her home in Agami, Egypt, 2025 3

Untitled, 2024 (No 86-024) Acrylic on canvas 150 x 139 cm (59 x 51 in.)

Untitled Diptych, 2026 (No 36-026) Acrylic on canvas 400 x 300 cm (157.5 x 118 in)

Untitled, 2025 (No 65-025) Acrylic on canvas Each panel: 200 x 152 cm (78.5 x 60 in) Total size: 200 x 457 cm (78.5 x 130 in) 9

Untitled, 2026 (No 29-026) Acrylic on canvas 200 x 130 cm (51 x 78.5 in) 11

Untitled, 2026 (No 47-026) Acrylic on canvas 190 x 150 cm (75 x 59 in)

Untitled, 2026 (No 45-026) Acrylic on canvas 140 x 250 cm (55 x 98.5 in) 15

Untitled, 2026 (No 25-026) Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm (71 x 59 in)

Untitled, 2026 (No 30-026) Acrylic on canvas 150 x 130 cm (59 x 51 in) 17

Untitled, 2024 (No 106-024) Acrylic on canvas 185 x 133 cm (73 x 52 in.)

Untitled Grey, 2023 (No 27-023) Oil and acrylic on canvas 273 x 177 cm (109 x 71 in)

Untitled, 2024 (No 88-024) Acrylic on canvas 178 x 128 cm (71 x 51 in.) 23

Untitled, 2024 (No 94-024) Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm (71 x 59 in.)

Untitled, 2024 (No 07-024 A, B, C, D, E) Acrylic on board 40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 in) each 27

Untitled, 2024 (No 103-024) Acrylic on canvas 147 x 147 cm (58 x 58 in.)

“My wish is that my art can bring healing and beauty. There is so much negativity in our world. For me, it is important to transform something of this—to bring harmony out of the chaos.” —Britt BG

Untitled, 2024 (No 112-024) Acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm (71 x 59 in.) 31

Untitled, 2025 (No 09-025) Acrylic on canvas 170 x 130 cm (67 x 51 in.)

Untitled, 2024 (111-024) Acrylic on canvas 170 x 170 cm (67 x 67 in.)

Untitled, 2024 (No 01-026) Acrylic on canvas 200 x 200 cm (78 x 78 in.) 37

A 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. 39

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 outside 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.

Select Solo Exhibitions 2027 2026 2025

2024 2023 2020 2019 2017 2015 2014 2012 2011 2008 2007 1999 1995 1989 1985 1975 1974 1973 1971 1969 1966 1962

Select Group Exhibitions 2027 2026

2025 2024 2016 2013 1995 1967

Select Private Collections Queen Sonja of Norway Valgerd Svarstad Haugland-former Minister of Culture and Equality, Norway Sultana al-Qu’aiti, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdel Nasser Family, Egypt Queen Noor of Jordan Robert Summer Collection Keith Richards and Patti Hansen Collection

BRITT BOUTROS-GHALI REPRESENTED BY

TRAFFICARTS CONTACT Michelle Edelman Phone: +41 79 158 3838 Whatsapp: +1 917 806 6978 Email: michelleve@traffic-nyc.com info@traffic-nyc.com www.traffic-nyc.com/artists/britt-boutros-ghali

Back cover: Untitled, 2024 (No 01-026) Acrylic on canvas 200 x 200 cm (78 x 78 in.) 43

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