The Sweetest Haven is a one-of-a-kind collaborative exhibition bringing together Adam Henein, the Arab world’s most influential living sculptor and Bahaa Amer, a mid-career surrealist painter.
87-year old Henein returns to painting with 6 works fresh out of his studio in Harraniyya. This time, however, Henein chose to explore the use of egg-based tempera. True to his commitment to Modernity, Henein constructs works that are sparse and minimalist, yet are striking because of the contrast between rich colors and space and perspective. With comparatively large blocks of color, the work glimpses on forms found in both Mother Nature and ancient Egyptian art. Where there is flux, Bahaa searches for continuity in that together with Henein, he has found a haven, a place of safety or refuge, in Mother Nature. Working out of Luxor or in Harraniyya with Adam in the museum, Bahaa seeks to express the self in the face of the world and his world resembles an animated ancient relief or a modern puppet theatre.