Metaphor by Ahmed Keshta

As part of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival the exhibition 'Metaphor' is on view at the Sharjah Art Museum.

Ahmed Keshta / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, the Cultural Affairs Department at the Sharjah Department of Culture has organized the 21st edition of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (SIAF).

The exhibition 'Metaphor', as part of the SIAF, officially opened at the Sharjah Art Museum in the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Mohammed Al Qaseer, Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Farah Qassim Mohammed, Islamic Arts Festival Executive and the respected guests.

Ahmed Keshta explaining his work / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

'Metaphor' presents varied colours, forms and lines. Ahmed Keshta uses objects from everyday life - in this case pencils - that form interesting structures. From the far we can admire beautiful arabesques, but when we get closer we see that each detail is created with various pencils. By repeating objects in various directions, Keshta created interesting designs that resemble fractal design found in nature. The artist told us how it took a lot of time and creative solutions to have them cut on a same size and then used as a building block for the artworks. His designs are clean and sophisticated, created on a neutral background. Geometry has always been a source of inspiration for many artists and is still relevant for contemporary artists like Keshta.

Ahmed Keshta (1978) felt an early calling for sculpture, which he deliberately tried to ignore by pursuing Interior Architecture studies at Cairo. Nevertheless, despite of a his academic career, that calling was so intense that he finally enrolled at Helwan University, Cairo, to study Applied Arts. Those studies took him to Europe, first to Germany, thanks to two fellowships by Goethe Institute, and then to Pietrasanta, Italy, where he learnt to carve granite from the great masters.

His European tour finally led him to Andorra, where he currently lives and works. It was there, amid the gorgeous natural landscapes that surround him daily, that his art has experimented a radical shift from the heaviness and severity of granite carving to geometrical installations made up of everyday objects.

'Metaphor' by Ahmed Keshta / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine