Gypsum Gallery celebrated the launch of its new space with a solo show by Egyptian-Greek artist Farida El Gazzar. Titled 'Dream City,' it brings together a collection of small-scale drawings and paintings produced between 2012 and 2015. The exhibition acts as a visual memoir of Cairo for the Athens-based artist, and is based on old family photographs, as well as snapshots of Cairo and Alexandria taken on annual summer vacations. One group of work activates her family album of photographs through images in pencil and acrylic drawings. Another group is a painting series of the flora of Egypt. The exhibition also includes a selection of paintings of architectural façades.
El Gazzar was born in 1975 in Alexandria, Egypt. She graduated from Vakalo School of Art & Design, in Athens, and then moved to London where she earned her Bachelor of Arts from Kingston University, and her Master of Arts degree from the Royal College of Art. From 2003 to 2007, she was co-founder of the creative team WARDA. Her ongoing relationship with the Middle East is a result of her early years in Alexandria and Kuwait and has been realized more recently through her residencies and research in Cairo and Manama.