Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
1925-1988
Salah Abdel Kerim was born in 1925 in Fayoum, Egypt to a family of five. In 1938 he was trained under the renowned Egyptian painter Hussein Bikar. He graduated in 1947 with honors in ornamentation from the faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. In 1948 he worked as an assistant to the interior decoration section at his University, then he received a grant to pursue his education in Europe and moved to France in 1952 to study Theatre Décor and Advertisement. In 1956, he studied Cinema Décor and obtained a Ph.D. from the “Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia” in 1957. A year later, he returned to Egypt to teach at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, he was appointed its Dean in 1982. Abdel Kerim had a special connection with animals since his childhood. It is said that he enjoyed collecting insects, birds and butterflies as a child. Through his art, Abdel Kerim wanted to strengthen the relationship between humans and animals. His fondness for them is reflective in his many representations of animals, especially in his sculptures. The artist makes them full of wonder, appealing, approachable, easy to connect with.
For his sculptures, the artist used mostly wood and metal, but he is most known for his scrap metal sculptures. In fact, in the Arab art world, he was given the nickname “The Scrap Artist”. He was fascinated with metal because of the common misconception that it is hard, unworkable, and permanent. However, light and air breaking down metal is for him a reminder that the work is perishable and decaying. His first sculpture, in 1959, was exhibited in Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil where it won the National Sculpting Award.
There was never any pre-conceptual design or preparation work for his sculptures. Abdel Kerim always started out randomly, inspired by the material itself. He didn’t want to call his work neither abstract nor figurative, he preferred the term “expressive” where each work expressed its own shape. He built up his works from the center of the piece to its final form interacting with light and air. He called it: “sculpting from emptiness”.
Salah Abdel Kerim was a perfectionist who strived to be fluent in several artistic languages: ceramics, oil paintings, murals, posters for cinema and theater, costuming for theater, mosaics, sketches, portraits, landscapes, miniatures. He also designed many interiors of buildings in Cairo.
His creatures are almost Burtonesque and whimsical yet this does not diminish their relatability and attractiveness.
The artist passed away in 1988.to
2
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
3
3
1
1
3
3
2
2
1
9
776
324
192
160
Artist: Salah Abdel Kerim
"Meridian Hotel Mural" Watercolor on Paper 20" x 22" inch by Salah Abdel Kerim
By Salah Abdel Kerim
Located in Culver City, CA
"Meridian Hotel Mural" Watercolor on Paper 20" x 22" inch by Salah Abdel Kerim
Born in Fayoum to a big family of 5 brothers and sisters. In 1938 he meets the famous painter Hussein Bikar and he becomes his student in the Faculty of Arts in Qena. He remained much attached to his professor all through his life. In 1940 he meets Hussein Youssef Amin and the Group of Contemporary Art at the secondary school of Farouk First in Abasya district in Cairo when he was introduced to surrealism for the first time. In 1943 he becomes a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts and graduates with excellence and honors in 1947. In 1948 he becomes an assistant to the interior decoration section at the FFA. He is then sent to a mission in Paris in 1952 and he becomes a student to Paul Colin and A.Marie Cassandre for publicity and theatre design. He then moves to Rome in 1956 to study cinema design. In 1957 he received the international prize in painting from San Vito Romano, Italy, and obtains his Ph.D. from Centro Sperimental di Cinemato Grafia. Back in Egypt in 1958, he is appointed professor at the FFA where he started experimenting with his masterpieces sculptures in wrote iron...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
"Macbeth Stagecraft I" Watercolor on cartoon 10" x 14" in by Salah Abdel Kerim
By Salah Abdel Kerim
Located in Culver City, CA
"Macbeth Stagecraft I" Watercolor on cartoon 10" x 14" in by Salah Abdel Kerim
Born in Fayoum to a big family of 5 brothers and sisters. In 1938 he meets the famous painter Hussein Bikar and he becomes his student in the Faculty of Arts in Qena. He remained much attached to his professor all through his life. In 1940 he meets Hussein Youssef Amin and the Group of Contemporary Art at the secondary school of Farouk First in Abasya district in Cairo when he was introduced to surrealism for the first time. In 1943 he becomes a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts and graduates with excellence and honors in 1947. In 1948 he becomes an assistant to the interior decoration section at the FFA. He is then sent to a mission in Paris in 1952 and he becomes a student to Paul Colin and A.Marie Cassandre for publicity and theatre design. He then moves to Rome in 1956 to study cinema design. In 1957 he received the international prize in painting from San Vito Romano, Italy, and obtains his Ph.D. from Centro Sperimental di Cinemato Grafia. Back in Egypt in 1958, he is appointed professor at the FFA where he started experimenting with his masterpieces sculptures in wrote iron...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Cardboard
"Macbeth Stagecraft II" Pastel on Paper 10" x 12" in by Salah Abdel Kerim
By Salah Abdel Kerim
Located in Culver City, CA
"Macbeth Stagecraft II" Pastel on Paper 10" x 12" in by Salah Abdel Kerim
Born in Fayoum to a big family of 5 brothers and sisters. In 1938 he meets the famous painter Hussein Bikar and he becomes his student in the Faculty of Arts in Qena. He remained much attached to his professor all through his life. In 1940 he meets Hussein Youssef Amin and the Group of Contemporary Art at the secondary school of Farouk First in Abasya district in Cairo when he was introduced to surrealism for the first time. In 1943 he becomes a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts and graduates with excellence and honors in 1947. In 1948 he becomes an assistant to the interior decoration section at the FFA. He is then sent to a mission in Paris in 1952 and he becomes a student to Paul Colin and A.Marie Cassandre for publicity and theatre design. He then moves to Rome in 1956 to study cinema design. In 1957 he received the international prize in painting from San Vito Romano, Italy, and obtains his Ph.D. from Centro Sperimental di Cinemato Grafia. Back in Egypt in 1958, he is appointed professor at the FFA where he started experimenting with his masterpieces sculptures in wrote iron...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Cardboard
Related Items
Nightie Night - 5"x9", Small Framed Artwork, White, Beige, Feminine
By Andrea Stajan-Ferkul
Located in Mississauga, Ontario
A soft neutral palette used in this artwork adds to the graceful, feminine quality of the subject matter. Focus is placed on the blending of delicate detail and expressive brush wor...
Category
2010s Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic, Pencil, Illustration Board
H 13 in W 23 in D 2.5 in
Napoleon at the Head of His Grande Armée, His Generals and the Prussian Hussars
Located in Cotignac, FR
Pencil, chalk and watercolour depiction of Napoleon at the head of his generals by French artist Jean Ducel. The work is signed bottom right.
A bold and graphic depiction of Napoleo...
Category
Late 20th Century Outsider Art Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Crayon, Cardboard, Pencil, Watercolor
Original Painting. Colliers Magazine Cover Published 1933 Wedding Illustration
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting. Colliers Magazine Cover Published 1933 Wedding Illustration
Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994)
The Wedding
Colliers published, June 17, 1933
17 1/4 X 11 1/2 inches (sight)
Framed 23 1/4 X 17 1/2 inches
Gouache on board
Signed lower right
BIOGRAPHY:
Antonio Petruccelli (1907-1994) began his career as a textile designer. He became a freelance illustrator in 1932 after winning several House Beautiful cover illustration contests.
In addition to 24 Fortune magazine covers, four New Yorker covers, several for House Beautiful, Collier’s, and other magazines he did numerous illustrations for Life magazine from the 1930s – 60s.
‘Tony was Mr. Versatility for Fortune. He could do anything, from charts and diagrams to maps, illustrations, covers, and caricatures,’ said Francis Brennan, the former art director for Fortune.
Over the course of his career, Antonio won several important design awards, designing a U.S. Postage Stamp Commemorating the Steel Industry and designing the Bicentennial Medal...
Category
1930s American Realist Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache, Board
Vintage Bi-Plane Watercolor
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vintage bi-plane
Category
20th Century Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Illustration Board
Original Painting. New Yorker Mag Cover Proposal WPA Mid Century American Scene
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting. New Yorker Mag Cover Proposal WPA Mid Century American Scene
Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994)
Perplexed Gentleman
New Yorker cover proposal, c. 1939
13 1/4 X 8 ...
Category
1930s American Modern Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache, Board
Art Nouveau Illustration Women and Children in the Woods
Located in Miami, FL
Complex Art Nouveau patterns intertwined with gracefull figures define this work by American Artist and illustrator, teacher and lecturer Mildred Bailey Carpenter. Signed in cartouc...
Category
1920s Art Nouveau Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache, Paper, Board
H 10 in W 7.5 in D 1 in
Mother and Child by Raymond Debieve, French Cubist Figurative Painting on Carton
By Raymond Debieve
Located in Atlanta, GA
Experience the profound beauty of "Mother and Child," a mixed media on cardboard artwork created in 1988 by the acclaimed artist Raymond Debiève. This stunning piece, crafted in a Cu...
Category
Mid-20th Century Cubist Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
William by Raymond Debieve, French Cubist Figurative Painting on Carton
By Raymond Debieve
Located in Atlanta, GA
Raymond Debieve (1931-2011)
Born in northern France as a twin to brother Michel Debieve (who also become an accomplished artist later in life), Raymond painted his entire life. His ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Cubist Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mixed Media, Cardboard
H 10.5 in W 8 in D 1 in
Roots - Contemporary Figurative Ink, Ecolina Painting, New Expression
Located in Salzburg, AT
Grażyna Rigall is a painter, illustrator, author of stage designs and music videos. - The artist is interested in the merging of the world of fauna and flora with the world of man, p...
Category
2010s Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Pin Up Girl in Red Dress, Mid-Century, Female Artist
By Pearl Frush
Located in Miami, FL
The Pin-Up of ravishing young beauties in mid-century America was a widely popular art form. The assumption that Pin-Up art was the exclusive domain of men is a misnomer. Female illu...
Category
1940s American Realist Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Illustration Board
Abstract figurative painting of a woman on paper "Reflecting the moment"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This artwork "Reflecting the moment" presents a striking and abstract depiction of the woman's body standing boldly against a vibrant, multi-hued background.
This piece makes part ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
H 11.7 in W 8.27 in D 0.04 in
Pretty In Pink - Three Original Artworks, Framed, 5.75" x 8.5", Dress Paintings
By Andrea Stajan-Ferkul
Located in Mississauga, Ontario
This is a set of three original artworks on board combining delicate detail with expressive brushwork. The outcome offers a soft, feminine aesthetic, with a flowing pink draped grace...
Category
2010s Contemporary Salah Abdel Kerim Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic, Illustration Board, Pencil
Salah Abdel Kerim figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Salah Abdel Kerim figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Salah Abdel Kerim in paint, watercolor, board and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Salah Abdel Kerim figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Salah Abdel Kerim figurative drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,250 and tops out at $8,340, while the average work can sell for $5,250.