F - Adam Henein , Egyptian B. 1929 Cat Bronze
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Notas : Executed in 1991, this work is number 4 from an edition of 8.As with other artists of Egyptian origin the work of Adam Henein is deeply rooted in his identity as an Egyptian. But rather than the bustle of city life that so characterises Mohamed Abla's canvases (see lot 583), Adam Henein's work is permeated with a profound calm. There is something deeply spiritual about his work, a sense of otherness that stems from his relationship with Egypt's ancient past. As an eight-year-old boy, Henein was taken on a school trip to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities and was quite overcome by the experience, saying that he felt "something change within", describing it almost as an epiphany he says it "affected me deeply and I am constantly striving to recapture this same moment, this same experience, even today. I need to find it, and every day, when I wake up, I hurry over to my studio with this hope. I have no doubt about what it is, even though I can't put it into words. Only through my work does it really become apparent." (Mona Khazindar, Adam Henein, Italy 2005, p. 32). The sense of awe and wonder that is so easily imagined in the little boy confronted with the splendours of the ancient pharaohs resonates through his work. The cat held particular significance for the ancient Egyptians, with feline goddesses like Mafdet and the lion-headed Sekhmet holding particular sway in their pantheon. Cats were treated as gods, their export was forbidden and the killing of a cat was punishable by death. The first of Henein's cats was produced in the 1970s, and it has proven one of his most popular sculptures. The stylised animals for which Henein is so renowned clearly draw on the artistic tradition of the pharaohs, by reducing their forms to the bare essentials and denoting their features through the use of subtle lines and modulations Henein captures the essence of the ancient aesthetic through abstraction. Henein even draws on the natural tones and characteristics of the materials he works with to produce a different impact through the reflection of light and surface texture. Ultimately though the singular mystical impact of his sculpture lies in the care with which he attempts to capture the living spirit of the creatures he sculpts.
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