Though pop art was introduced in Egypt 20 years ago, it has recently become a popular visual art form that has adorned clothing, bags and home accessories.
Adel al-Siwi is one of the well-known contemporary Egyptian painters who had a profound influence on pop art in the country. His portraits of Egyptian celebrities depict iconic figures in cultural scene decades ago, and his works are among the most expensive paintings here.
Pop art shows the cultural aspects of banal elements such as advertising logos and celebrity portraits. Contrary to fine art, this visual art movement focuses on popular subjects of mass culture represented with innovative mixed media techniques.
The mid 1950s marked the emergence of the pop art in Britain, which was soon employed in North America with a different perspective. Prominent artist Andy Warhol, American painter and commercial illustrator, elevated the celebrity portrait to an art form. His love for celebrities was reflected in his paintings including "Eight Elvises", his highest priced painting, which sold for $100 million in 1963.
If you are in search for impressive pop art, you can find two large paintings of Farid al-Atrash and Omar al-Sherif with Faten Hamama, painted by a French pop artist Diynn, at L’oiseau du Nil store for around LE6500.
If you want a bit of pop art to fit your budget, small decorative blocks depicting Nadia Lotfy, Roushdy Abaza, Souad Hosny, and Mervat Amin in eye-catching colors are also available. The same celebrity portraits are printed on a collection of trays and mugs at reasonable prices, ranging from LE70 to LE280.
Mounaya gallery is the exclusive seller of Sarah’s bag, a line of stylish pop art purses handcrafted by Lebanese women. While some bags demonstrate vivid colors, others are designed with black and white film pictures. The collection includes chic evening purses featuring calligraphy of the song lyrics of Sabah and Oum Kalthoum written in glittering beads.
The gallery also displays glass and porcelain ashtrays decorated with portraits of Arab singers and images of old movie posters including "Gharam wa Intiqam" (Love and Revenge), "Ayam wa Layali" (Days and Nights) and "Ghazal al-Banat" (Flirtation of Girls).
“Oum Kalthoum items are the most purchased, whether bags or ashtrays, because she is known worldwide as a legend,” said Mona Zakry, the gallery manager. “Both Arabs and foreigners appreciate her great works and still listen to her strong singing voice.”
Pop art has also found its way to clothing at Zafir, where a collection of t-shirts and scarves are sold.
Ahmed Hussein, a salesman, said the clothes targeting different age groups, but teenagers always show more interest in this kind of art. Printed t-shirts with Adel Imam and Hend Rostom portraits are sold from LE70 to LE130.
“The pop art is proving successful these days, so we are planning to add vases, paintings and mugs of this trend in our upcoming collection.”
