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Wonders of Egypt

Exposition Art d’Égypte, Natalie Clark © Hesham Alsaifi

Styles

25 November 2022


Since the beginning of time, creative people have worshipped the iconography of ancient Egypt, from its Sphinx of Giza to the pyramids of Cheops and Cleopatra. Egyptian designers and architects as well as Egyptophiles shine the light on the cradle of civilization, its millennial culture, its secular know-how, immortalize its mystical aura by remixing them with contemporary codes. This month especially. A dozen local and international artists have been invited to take a fresh look at the Egyptian relics of Giza, the scene of the second part of the « Forever is Now » exhibition until November 29. 

 

Louis Barthélémy’s mythological illustrations, Seilern Architects’ pharaonic architecture in El Gouna, REJO’s Arab-influenced furniture, Aimee McLaughlin’s neo-antique amphorae, Laila Gohar and Muller Van Severen’s colorful dovecote… The five new wonders of Egypt? Moodboard.

  • Style

    NEO-ANTIQUE

  • Emblem

    PYRAMID

  • Exhibition

    FOREVER IS NOW II

  • Film

    MISSION CLEOPATRA

The exhibition
“Forever is Now II”
at the Pyramids of Giza

Exhibition Art d’Égypte, Ahmed Karaaly © Hesham Alsaifi

Since October 27 and until November 29, the pyramids of Giza compete for attention with the contemporary works of a dozen local and international artists (Jwan Yosef, eL Graine, Emilio Ferro, Ahmed Karaly, Therese Antoine) come to present their enigmatic installations in the most authentic way. 

 

This second edition of “Forever is Now” of Art D’Égypte reflects on time and timelessness, earth and history, ecology and humanity through architectures all more mystical than the others and various mediums such as Galala limestone, fiber, corten steel, wood or acrylic.

Exhibition Art d’Égypte, Emilio Ferro © AFP

Exhibition Art d’Égypte

Pharaonic architecture of Seilern Architects in El Gouna

Head to the seaside resort of El Gouna, where London-based Studio Seilern Architects completed this year the El Gouna Cultural and Conference Center, an institute located on the west coast of the Red Sea that hosts international cultural and sporting events every year.

An architectural feat between ancient and modern Egypt that pays tribute to Moorish aesthetics, Egyptian monumentality and the surrounding panoramas.

The book “Egyptomanie et Art déco”

Pumping station, Tower Hamlets area, London by John Outram © DR

Interior of the Medical Research Institute in Brussels © Modern Architecture Archives

Published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s treasures (November 4, 1922) and the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, the book “Egyptomanie et Art déco” retraces in photography the insatiable curiosity of creative people for ancient Egypt, a fertile ground for Art Deco artists who found inspiration particularly in its lines and patterns.

Interior of the great hall of Luxor © Luc Boegly

The Louxor in Paris © Photo Luc Boegly

Interior of the Medical Research Institute in Brussels © Modern Architecture Archives

Pierre Frey x Louvre Museum

Panoramic wallpaper Les marais du Nil

Metallic wallpaper Djehouty © Philippe Garcia 

To celebrate these two major discoveries, Pierre Frey and the Louvre have collaborated to present a new collection of fabrics, wallpapers, and rugs that revisit the world of the senses through the evocation of lush flora and fauna embroidered on linen.

Silk and linen damask fabric Âbakaou © Philippe Garcia 

Laura Gonzalez x Renaissance

 

Laura Gonzalez projects ancient Egypt into the digital world with her virtual work Althea Goddess Garden imagined for the 35th anniversary of Elle Décoration. Auctioned on the Super Rare Collection platform, the NFT features the birth of a console in the middle of a thousand-year-old temple, with shapes reminiscent of Egyptian sweets.

Laura Gonzalez X Renaissance

The plural Arab influence of the REJO studio

The Topography of our Intimate Being by Rejo Studio

Craft School New Baris, by Hassan Fathy © Viola Bertini

There is something terribly mystical about the work of REJO Studio. Founded by Reem Olyan and Jumana Qassem, two Palestinians who met at the University of Islamic Engineering and Architecture in Gaza, REJO blends different influences from the Arab world into its designs, from traditional Middle Eastern aesthetics to the modernist work of Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy.

Hug chair by Rejo Studio

The three headed chair by Rejo Studio

The Topography of our Intimate Being by Rejo Studio

Louis Barthélémy’s Egyptian textile frescoes

Louis Barthélemy

French illustrator and textile designer Louis Barthélémy tells the story of ancient Egypt through poetic mythological tapestries: the desert landscapes of the Nile, the rituals of the pharaohs, love stories and erotic fantasies… Based in Cairo, the Egyptophile embroiders cotton canvas and revives Egyptian craftsmanship by making “khayamiya”, traditional frescoes made according to an age-old technique.

Cushions by Louis Barthélemy

Louis Barthélemy x Christian Louboutin

Aimée McLaughlin’s neo-antique amphoras

Objet Aimée © Jenn Bravo

Objet Aimée © Jenn Bravo

It is said that Cleopatra used the contents of an amphora to seduce Mark Antony… The most widely used container in antiquity for transporting wine, olive oil, beer, or perfume, the amphora is nowadays sacred as an object of visual desire, a piece to be displayed and contemplated. And Aimee McLaughlin, creator of Objet Aimée, will not say otherwise. Her ceramic vases and pots are a neo-antique reminiscence to the flasks of the last queen of Egypt.

Objet Aimée

The pigeon table by Muller Van Severen x Laila Gohar

Ancient Egypt meets modern Belgium

 

For the Salone del Mobile in Milan 2022, New York-based Egyptian artist Laila Gohar collaborated with the Muller Van Severen studio to retwist the dovecote of Egypt. The result: the different floors of the dovecote are reinvented through polyethylene boards with playful colorblocking, a signature of Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen.

Esoteric wardrobe

On the fashion side, pyramids, amphorae and the bleached shades of the Sun inspire a softly esoteric wardrobe that gives a taste for escape and travel.

Bevza SS23 Look 33

Budapest Select SS23 Look 4

Balmain Resort 2023

Balmain Resort 2023 Look 1

Toutânkhamon

Balmain Resort 2023 Look 55

Born under X and then adopted in France, Olivier Rousteing has long dreamed of being Egyptian. While he abandoned this fantasy when he learned that his mother is Somali and his father Ethiopian, he continues to celebrate the country through Balmain’s collections. His latest is full of Egyptian references: dresses with mummy-like bandages, details with asp (Egyptian cobra with which Cleopatra would have killed herself)… A majestic ornamental tribute.

Balmain Resort 2023 Look 18

Balmain Resort 2023 Look 3

Death of Cleopatra, Andrea Solarium, av.1550

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