THE EMBRACE 1970
signed and dated A.Morsi / 1970 lower right
woodcut on paper
61 x 44.5cm; 24 x 17 1/2in
81.5 x 62cm; 32 x 24 1/2in (framed)

Property of a Private Collector, London

Abdel Wahab Morsi was born in Al Sharkeia, Egypt. In 1957, he graduated with a BA from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek, Cairo. In 1971, he left Egypt to further his studies at the University of San Fernando in Spain, with a focus on engraving. It was in the same year that he was awarded second prize in the 3rd international triennial in Barcelona.

Morsi rejected Euro-American artistic subordination, instead rooting his creativity in his native Egyptian soil, in relation to its craftsmanship, tools and materials. Inspired by the historic Islamic surroundings of his studio in Kasr Almesafer khana in the old Azhar district of Cairo, and by his work for the Center of Antiquities Registration during the period 1958 – 1976, he reformulated ancient Egyptian imagery, realising its two-dimensional linearity and symbolism in a contemporary hieratic form.

Morsi’s work has been exhibited extensively, including solo exhibitions at the Egyptian Cultural Centre, Belgium in 1982, Modern Art Gallery, Geneva in 1971, and the Museum of Modern Art, Cairo. He has also participated in group exhibitions including the Alexandria Biennial and the Venice Biennale in 1976. His work can be found in various important private collections in Egypt and beyond, and is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cairo, The Jordanian National Museum and the Royal Museum, Madrid, among others.