Mohamed Al Mazrouei Egypt, b. 1962

Mohamed Al Mazrouei (Tanta, 1962) is an Emirati artist, poet, and writer. He studied ancient languages at the Faculty of Languages and Translation at Al Azhar University in Cairo. He moved to Abu Dhabi in the early Eighty’s to eventually become instrumental to the Cultural Foundation and establish himself as a prominent artist, writer, photographer as well as manager of the Emirates Writer’s Union. He has written and published nine books of short stories and poems. His art practice – mainly painting in a signature Neo-Expressionist style – allows viewers to enter the world of his vast imagination. His artworks are rich with figurative iconography and include many humanoid forms. Al Mazrouei’s paintings depict a feeling of fervour and urgency that invites the viewer to follow every brushstroke. The human face and figure are often his preferred subjects to paint. However, with a rich, non-linear training, Al Mazrouei’s approach to the abstract incorporates black and white in absolute purity. Like letters or musical notes, lines and colours fuse to create a composition that strives for a sense of equilibrium. His delineation of a particular object challenges traditional shapes, begging the eye to decipher elements of his compositions.

 

In the past four decades spanning his career, Al Mazrouei held several solo exhibitions in the UAE and abroad, including NO (2022), Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Dubai, UAE; Raw Cooked (2017), AB43 Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland; Prototype (2016), Mojo Gallery, Dubai, UAE; Maidens of Fair (2012), Abu Dhabi Theatre, Abu Dhabi, UAE; and The Smell (1990), Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Additionally, he participated in several important exhibitions, including Portrait of a Nation I and II (2022 and 2017), Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Artists and the Cultural Foundation: The Early Years (2018), Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE; (Alibadah): Hashel Al Lamki and Mohamed Al Mazrouei (2018), NYUAD Art Gallery – Project Space, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Noah’s Ark: the 34th Emirates Fine Art Society’s Annual Exhibition(2016), Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE; There Are Too Many Walls but Not Enough Bridges (2015), Kunstzeughaus, Rapperswil/Zurich, Switzerland; Sky Over the East (2014), Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE; 3rd Emirati Expressions: Realised (2013), Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE; MinD/Body: Body Art and Performance in the Gulf (2013), Ductac’s Gallery of Light, Dubai, UAE; the 3rd Al Kharafi Biennial (2010), Kuwait City, Kuwait; and the 1st Sharjah Biennial (1993), Sharjah, UAE. Al Mazrouei is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Jury Prize (2012) at the 30th Emirates Fine Arts Society Exhibition, Sharjah, UAE and the 1st Award in Photography from Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Furthermore, his works can be found in prominent public and private collections in the UAE, such as ADMAF, Cultural Foundation, and UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi; Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah; and the Qatari Ministry of Culture in Doha; in addition to several private collections around the world.