Mostafa El Razzaz

Zamalek Art Gallery in Cairo presents a solo exhibition of the Egyptian painter, sculptor and writer Mostafa El Razzaz, from 11 to 29 October 2026. The show fills both of the gallery's spaces, Venue I and Venue II, at 11 Brazil Street in Zamalek. It brings together paintings, framed works on paper and sculpture, including a group of bird sculptures set on plinths. The exhibition opened on 11 October at 6pm.

Birds run through the sculpture in the show. One is an open lattice of curving lines with a green patina. Another is a flat black silhouette, its wing cut into rows of small patterned shapes. A third, copper in colour, stands on a green stone base with a long beak and thin legs. The gallery presents these birds as caught between stillness and flight. Large black discs, cut through with figures and plant forms, stand in another room, while big canvases on the walls set rows of figures in bright grids of colour.

El Razzaz began making art as a student in 1962 and held his first exhibition in 1966. He trained at the Higher Institute of Art Education, taking a BA in 1965 and an MA in 1972, and completed a doctorate in the United States in 1979. His work draws on Egyptian folk heritage and on popular epics such as the tales of Antara ibn Shaddad and Abu Zayd al-Hilali. He has spoken of starting a painting with a single bird or a climbing plant and letting the rest of the scene grow around it.

Alongside his studio work, El Razzaz has held senior posts in Egyptian cultural life. He led the General Organization of Cultural Palaces from 1997 to 1999. He also founded the Faculty of Specific Education for Arts, Music and Media and served as its dean. He has written widely on Egyptian art and its artists. In 2017 he received the Nile Award in the arts. The exhibition is open from 11am to 9pm every day except Friday.