Klay Mohamed Abdel Aziz Kassem blends the beauty of Egyptian culture with his contemporary abstract expressionist approach. Planes of color and streamlined forms merge with motifs borrowed from ancient culture makes Kassem’s work a tantalizing statement on modernism in Egypt.
Born in Alexandria in 1977, Kassem holds an MA (2008) and a PhD (2013) in art studies from the University of Alexandria. His paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group national and international exhibitions in Muscat, India, Paris, Alexandria, Luxor and Sharm El Sheikh. He is the recipient of eight national art awards, including First prize at Nagy Salon in 1999 and the Grand Prize in painting at the Port Said Biennale in 2011, and his paintings are part of permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts in Helwan, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Luxor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture in Cairo.
