MOHAMED ABLA: WÖRTER HALTEN

Mohamed Abla (born 1953) is one of the most renowned Egyptian artists of his generation. After studying fine arts in Alexandria, he studied sculpting and printmaking in Vienna in 1981 and in Zurich in 1982. But his pathway always led him back to his second home of Walsrode, where his sculpture Sisyphus has stood on a central traffic square since 1993. Abla participated in numerous international exhibitions, such as the Havana Biennial and at the British Museum in London, and taught at various institutions in Europe and Egypt. In 2007 he founded the Fayoum Art Center, a place where young artists live and work together, and in 2009 the first Caricature Museum in the Middle East and North Africa. After the uprisings, in which he also took part, he was elected to the Committee of 50 that wrote Egypt’s new constitution. Mohamed Abla is convinced that artists have a social responsibility and that their work cannot be separated from everyday life. He therefore feels obliged to express the diverse social and political issues of Egyptian society using his own language and through various artistic means and to convey them to an international audience. Mohamed Abla will receive the Goethe Medal in 2022 for his cultural achievements. In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and KUNSTFEST WEIMAR, Galerie EIGENHEIM is showing a selection of his extensive oeuvre in Weimar – newer and older works, as well as works that have never been shown before. On 26 August at 3 pm, Mohamed Abla will speak about his life’s work with the curator and festival maker Thomas Oberender at the gallery. On 27 August at 11 am the artist will perform his »Abla interactive method« with visitors at the gallery space.