Mahmoud Khaled: Painter on a Study Trip

[Alexandrian artist Mahmoud Khaled gives visitors a tour of his exhibition. Image courtesy of MedrarTV.] [Alexandrian artist Mahmoud Khaled gives visitors a tour of his exhibition. Image courtesy of MedrarTV.]

Mahmoud Khaled: Painter on a Study Trip

By : Medrar TV مدرار تي في

Mahmoud Khaled:

Painter on a Study Trip

April - May 2014

Gypsum Gallery, Cairo

 

In his latest solo exhibition at Gypsum Gallery, Alexandrian artist Mahmoud Khaled presents a selection of photography, sculpture, painting, text, video, and installation works inspired by an eponymous nineteenth-century painting at the Museum of Fine Arts in Alexandria. This painting made the artist reflect on his classical training as a painter at the Fine Arts Academy in Alexandria and its complicated relationship to the language of contemporary art.

Khaled, thus, compiled six key terms that recur in art history books to define art practice: process, material, detail, source, exercise and composition, and used them as the basis for six new works shown in Painter on a Study Trip. The exhibition is presented from the perspective of a semi-fictitious student/artist on a field trip to Antoniades Garden, a landmark Alexandrian park modeled as a miniature version of Versailles Palace, and used as a standard location for outdoor assignments at local art academies. Painter on a Study Trip also includes an earlier work by Khaled entitled Memorial to Failure (2013), which is comprised of a video and a sculpture. The work is based on an actual studio visit between the artist and renowned Italian thinker Franco "Bifo" Berardi.

In this video, Khaled offered visitors a tour of the show, reflecting on his inspirations and the process through which he developed the work.

This video was produced as part of the arts documentation workshop organized by Medrar TV in collaboration with Vernissage TV. The workshop was made possible with the support of the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia

                          [This video is produced by Medrar TV and is featured in partnership with Jadaliyya Culture.]          

Editor`s note: a review of Mahmoud Khaled`s exhibition appeared on Jadaliyya earlier this month and can be found here.

A Scenography Workshop by Hussein Baydoun

A Scenography workshop by Hussein Baydoun

8-16 September 2013

Falaki Theater, Cairo, Egypt

 

Hussein Baydoun is a Lebanese artist, architect, and scenographer who is known for his unique approach to set design. Baydoun frequently participates in the creation and development of performances from their early stages with the view that scenography is an essential component to the creation of theatrical work, one no less important than the script. His designs are often inspired by the performance spaces in which he works, where he creates fascinating sets from whatever is available as he challenges conventional notions about theater production, such as in his most recent performance "Alice," which was produced in collaboration with Lebanese playwright and director Sawsan Bou Khaled. In September, Baydoun returned to Cairo to lead a scenography workshop following the same vision. At the American University in Cairo`s Falaki Theater, he worked with six upcoming set designers, in addition to amateurs, on creating imaginative environments from the remnants of old sets and other discarded objects. This video highlights the vision and development of the workshop as Baydoun describes the aim of his teaching methods.  


 

      

     [This video is produced by Medrar TV and is featured as part of a new partnership with Jadaliyya Culture.]