Riham Elsadany Fantasmagoria


Born in 1978 in Cairo, Egypt, Riham El Sadany works and lives between Egypt and the USA. With a PhD from Helwan Fine Arts university on Performance Arts, El Sadany draws upon a diverse range of influences, including surrealism, Picasso’s childlike spontaneity, and Frida Kahlo’s transforming of pain and struggle into stunning canvasses. A mixed media artist, El Sadany indulges into a world of dramatic fantasy, masterly vacillating between the visible and the invisible of the complex human psyche. When looking at El Sadany’s entire body of work, one wonders whether she is a surrealist artist painting her dreams and fears, or whether she is simply painting our own reality as it really is and as she sees it. The women in El Sadany’s repertoire are the focal point. Though mostly bulky and muscular, they are tender, romantic and sensual. It is however the set up, rich in optical illusions and superimposed elements, that embark us on a medley of the real and the imagined.

2013 Issue

2015 Issue

A mixed media artist, ElSadany indulges into a world of dramatic, sensual fantasy, masterly vacillating between the forbidden and the allowed, the real and imaginary, the wishful and the reality, the unattainable and the reachable, in a world where women have the upper hand.

When looking at El Sadany’s entire body of work, one wonders whether she is a surrealist artist, painting her dreams and fears, or whether she is simply painting our own reality as it really is and as she sees it. It is however the set up, rich in optical illusions and superimposed elements and perspectives, that embark us on a medley of the real and the imagined; the disturbing and the comforting; the known that we recognize and the unconscious that we try to escape from.