Painter
Fouad Kamel
Fouad Kamel participated in the Group of Contemporary Egyptian Art, which was founded by Hussein Youssef Amin (1904-1984) as a branch of the Art and Freedom Society (Art et Liberté). He was among the pioneering Egyptian artists who explored surrealism and abstraction. His art demonstrated a strong preference for abstraction, with a significant focus on the use of color. Specific periods of his artistic career were defined by the predominance of certain colors in his work.
Amin motivated artists such as Kamel and other innovators to create art that was unapologetically genuine and truthful in its depiction of human pain and suffering, echoing the surrealist mindset. Some of the members of the Contemporary Art Group were Amin’s former students from when he taught drawing in secondary school, and included individuals like Samir Rafi (1926-2004), Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar (1925-1965), Hamed Nada (1924-1990), Kamel Youssef (1890-1971), and others.
These artists were influenced by the surrealist philosophy, which eschewed heroic and excessively optimistic themes. Instead, it was an art form that critiqued political oppression and human struggle, aiming to ignite radical social progress. The artists of the Contemporary Art Group were more fervent than the surrealists who came before them in using visual arts to reflect and solidify Egyptian national identity and self-determination.
