Curatorial Voices: Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa

Live Virtual Auction, 28 February 2023

Curatorial Voices: Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa
About the Session

Curatorial Voices: Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa is a dynamic collaborative project conceived by Strauss & Co to address the need for diversified representation of artists from across the African continent in the secondary market. Curated by Strauss & Co Heads of Sale, Kirsty Colledge and Kate Fellens, with input by seven international art experts with embedded knowledge of Africa; Serge Tiroche, Valerie Kabov, Heba Elkayal, Danda Jaroljmek, Anne Kariuki, Dana Endundo Ferreira, Kimberley Cunningham. Curatorial Voices presents collectors with a broad selection of work by leading contemporary artists alongside select pieces by important historical artists.


Sold for

ZAR 105 800
Lot 47
  • Weaam El-Masry; Purple Shoes
  • Weaam El-Masry; Purple Shoes
  • Weaam El-Masry; Purple Shoes


Lot Estimate
ZAR 80 000 - 120 000
VAT is charged on both hammer & premium for daggered lots
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 105 800

About this Item

Egyptian 1976-
Purple Shoes

signed and dated 2022 in English and Arabic

acrylic and charcoal on paper
106 by 77,5cm excluding frame; 125,5 by 96,5 by 2,5cm including frame

Notes

El-Masry explores the challenges faced by Egyptian women today using figuration, animal imagery, and the symbolism of feminine items such as high heels in her work. El-Masry's figures are big and voluptuous in an attempt to assert themselves in space and time, despite the attempts to be consumed by society by way of local oxen or other crushing male forces. Oftentimes whimsical and sometimes dark, El-Masry's work is an attempt to carve out and assert the space and place of being a woman in Egyptian society, all the while exploring femininity and the desire to ensure women's rights remain despite society's attempts to oppress or eliminate them.

Weaam El-Masry is an Egyptian Cairo-based multi-award-winning visual artist. She holds a PhD in media art from the Faculty of Applied Arts at Helwan University in Helwan, Egypt. She is currently working as a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts & Design, MSA University in 6th. October City, Egypt and is a curator and co-founder of Easel and Camera, a contemporary art gallery located in Egypt.

El-Masry is also a painter, who at times moves to photography, animation, and installation. Her work has been exhibited at galleries, festivals, art fairs, biennales, and museums locally and internationally, notably the 59th Venice Biennale (2022); Egypt International Art Fair (2020); Sixth Silk Road International Arts Festival, Shaanxi Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, China (2019); Beirut Art Fair (2018); Biblical Book and Book-Object Biennale, 1st edition, National Literary Museum, Bucharest, Romania (2018); 10th Luxor International Painting Symposium; Egyptian Ministry Of Culture (through its Cultural Development Fund), Luxor, Egypt (2017); Florence Biennale, Italy (2015); 5th Beijing International Art Biennale, China (2012); One Minute Film & Video Festival in Aarau, Switzerland (2008); Egyptian Museum of Contemporary Art; and many group and solo exhibitions in Egypt and abroad.

With more than 25 awards and scholarships from different institutions in Egypt and abroad; including but not limited to UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists (2012); Culture Resource Award for Artistic Production for Young Arab Artists & Writers - the Arab region (2006); D.A.A.D, Germany (2005-2006); Pro-Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council (2010); Alexandria library, Egypt (2005); Kulturamt Düsseldorf, Germany (2002).

El-Masry’s works are in public collections such as Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Museum of Egyptian Modern Art; National Literary Museum Bucharest, Romania; and private collections in Egypt, Germany, the USA, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Spain.

Provenance

Heba Elkayal, Cairo, 2023.

View all Weaam El-Masry lots for sale in this auction