“I am interested in projecting human implications through an artistic vision of a community on which long-standing woes have piled. However, amidst the nightmarish climate surrounding them, there is something which we sympathize with.” Hamed Nada (1924 – 1990)
A satirist of the human tragedy at first, Nada was one of the key members of the Contemporary Art Group, founded by Hussein Youssef Amin. His early period showed shapeless, tragic characters with symbols like tattoos. There, it was with difficulty that one could differentiate between Nada and Gazzar – the other key member of the Contemporary Art Group.
As years went by, Nada moved towards vitality, lyrical rhythm, and simplicity, driven by children’s drawings as a schoolteacher himself.
Finally, with the open-door policy, Nada testified to the fragile Egyptian bowing to the contrasting Western and Wahaby manifestations, cultural and religious pressures.
The mature paintings of Hamed Nada are filled with anecdotal details. Rich in nuances of mystery and magic, together, they are intended to evoke a sense of folklore, woven from a tapestry of the Thousand and One Nights, pharaonic mythology, and popular legends.