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Murtada Yousri
Awards & Honors
Yousry has achieved widespread local and international acclaim, receiving some of the most prestigious fine art distinctions:
- The State Incentive Award in Fine Arts (Sculpture Category) – Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
- First Prize in Sculpture – The Cairo International Biennale.
- The Knight-Class Medal of Cultural and Artistic Merit (In recognition of his contributions to contemporary calligraphic sculpture).
- The Grand Prize for Art Acquisition – Arab Thought Foundation.
- Special Lifetime Achievement Award – Aswan International Sculpture Symposium as a pioneer of direct carving on hard stone.
Artist Biography
Fine Art Sculptor: Mortada Yousry (Aswan, Egypt)
Born in the heart of the historic city of Aswan in Upper Egypt, artist Mortada Yousry grew up surrounded by ancient granite mountains and pharaonic temple reliefs that deeply inspired his visual sensibilities since childhood. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts, he pursued advanced postgraduate studies in the restoration and sculpting of stone and metallic mediums. Today, Yousry stands as one of the most prominent contemporary voices in modern Arabic sculpture, masterfully transforming the rigidity of historical materials into fluid, poetic, and surrealist visual compositions.
Artistic Vision & Philosophy
“Stone and metal are not inert materials; they are historical records carrying the memory of the earth and the universe.” Mortada Yousry’s artistic philosophy revolves around the concept of “The Balance of Opposites and Breaking the Constraints of Matter.” He is globally renowned for subverting the sheer harshness of solid white marble, shaping it with a biomorphic abstract surrealism that makes the rigid stone appear to twist and melt through space like liquid silk.
In his alternative sculptural directions, Yousry fuses fire and element by manually forging red copper, yellow brass, and oxidized iron with heat and hammer. Through this, he revives abstract Arabic calligraphy and kinetic dynamism within a mature architectural framework tailored for luxury modern villas and corporate spaces, orchestrating an eternal dialogue between light and shadow.
Signature Style
Artistic Maturity
Exhibitions & Art Residencie
Artist Mortada Yousry has participated in numerous elite art exhibitions and prestigious fellowships worldwide:
- The Cairo International Biennale (Grand Prize Winner).
- Aswan International Sculpture Symposium (Permanent Participant & Former Artistic Consultant).
- Venice Biennale – The Egyptian Pavilion (Honorary Representation).
- “Echoes of Contemporary East” Exhibition – Paris Art Consultants, France.
- Contemporary Visual Arts Exposition – Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- One-Year Artist Residency at the Carrara Quarries (Italy), by special invitation of the International Academy of Fine Arts, to research biomorphic surrealist carving on premium white marble.
Commissioned Projects
The artist has executed massive, site-specific monumental sculptures and installations designed for luxury corporate and residential architectural identities:
- Grand Lobby Installation: Financial Center Tower, King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), Riyadh, KSA.
- Monumental Outdoor Sculpture: Primary Entrance of a Luxury Resort, El Gouna, Red Sea, Egypt.
- Bespoke Sculptural Suites: Main Atrium of a Leading Investment Bank Headquarters, Cairo, Egypt.
Press, Interviews and Art Criticism
- “Atyaf” Cultural Show – Egyptian Television: An exclusive, feature-length televised interview on the metaphysics of forging metals and carving stone.
- “Art & Society” Magazine (Dubai): Critical review essay titled “Mortada Yousry: The Engineering of Void and the Magic of Contemporary Eastern Script” (September 2024 Issue).
- Al-Ahram Newspaper: A comprehensive curatorial critique of his solo exhibitions at the Cairo Opera House.
Public & Corporate Collections
Yousry’s masterpieces serve as luxury visual anchors and institutional centerpieces in renowned permanent collections worldwide:
- The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art (Cairo, Egypt).
- The Open-Air Sculpture Museum (Aswan, Egypt).
- Major Corporate Banking & Financial Institutions (Executive Boardroom Collections).
- Private VIP Collections in elite palaces and upscale estates across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, London, and New York.
Facets of the Artist's Life
Philosophy of Artworks at M ART GALLERY
Techniques & Mediums
The artist focuses his exclusive partnership with our e-commerce platform on three primary structural lines:
- Biomorphic Surrealist Sculpture (Premium Italian Carrara Marble): Free-standing 3D masterpieces exploring internal voids, mass subtraction, and gravity defiance.
- Welded Mixed-Media Assemblage (Copper & Molten Bronze): Fire-forged 3D wall-mounted installations that dynamically manipulate light reflection.
- Contemporary Wall Reliefs (Aswan Sandstone): Hand-carved historical sandstone layouts integrating abstract Arabic typography into modern interior architectural walls.
Featured Collections (Store Classification)
Some of the artist creations
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