In her works, Nazli Madkour evokes an ethereal state similar to the first matter of the world in the process of formation. She does not prefer the final edition of nature, but rather the recurring vital forces that the earth passes through until it is realized, until it blossoms. Her shapes pulsate with a personal rhythm that she seizes with her brush. Nazli embarks on an imaginary journey that we share with her in learning about nature. She does not view the world with the eyes of a neutral observer, but rather identifies with it, follows its course, and connects to its beginnings. Through it, she comes to know her own self and paves the way for her pictorial vision in an attempt to discover the numerous layers underlining and forming her final painting. She deals with the surface of the canvas with fluency and flow as she responds to free association with determination and confidence that her imagination is replete with images. She weaves her surface with successive bursts of color and multi-effect touches, a rough touch and a delicate one, a thick color and a transparent one, and through multiple layers of color and entangled lines, she begins to formulate her own aesthetic relationships. Finally, the shapes immerge as disintegrating flakes carrying the vibration and pulse of a vital moment of loss of materiality taking the form of visions on their way to disappearance.
Dr. Amal Nasr
About the Artist
Nazli Madkour was born in Cairo where she lives and works. She received her master’s Degree in Political Economy from the American University in Cairo. In 1981 she resigned from her post of Economic Expert at the Industrial Development Centre for Arab States (Arab League, Cairo) to concentrate on art. She held over 40 solo exhibitions. Madkour participated in the Sharjah International Biennales and the Cairo International Biennale of 1998. She took part in the second international Symposium of Sanart, Ankara, Turkey, in May 1995. She also took part in several group exhibitions in Egypt, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, Lebanon, Sharjah, Kuwait, Greece, Japan, the UK, and the USA. She was a member of the Plastic Arts Committee of the Supreme Council for Culture from 2002 to 2005. She also participated in the 17th international congress of Aesthetics, Ankara, Turkey, in July 2007. Madkour was an artist in residence at the Hague Vrije Academie in Holland in 2007.
