Saber is adept at presenting us with realistic elements, whether symbols or objects, living or inanimate, within a framework of surrealist irrationalism. This superimposition of realist and surrealist imagery is predicated on his obsession with intricately-worked details, which constitutes the key animating factor of his art.
After his wildly successful 2021 exhibition ‘Al Maqam’ which delved into the spiritual and folk rituals and rites of Upper Egypt’s Nubian heartland, Luxor native and contemporary starlet Ahmed Saber now turns his artistic endeavors to an equally enrapturing explorative focus. Saber’s contemporary surrealism blends the arcane with the mundane in a thoroughly meditative process that always contains a transcending underlying message and meaning. Saber’s art oscillates between the modern and ancient worlds, and his compositional style melds an enigmatic design language with his exemplary drawing ability, and is conceived in his trademark Egypto-surrealism. Since becoming a Safarkhan resident artist in 2019, Saber’s star has risen to the heights his laboriously beguiling art warrants, cementing his status as one of the nation’s top contemporary talents.
This collection informally consists of three distinct chronological segments, Egypt’s past, present and future. The artist draws the thrust of inspiration from the wise and gallant Solomon son of David. As one of the most revered characters across the three Abrahamic faiths, King Solomon embodied the roles of a seer, prophet and the archetypal philosopher king in one legendary personage. Atop Solomon’s favored steed as our guide, Saber takes us on a panoramic gallop across Egyptian history. Transporting us first from the echoes of Egypt’s gilded past, where architecture was exquisite, education was cherished, and where its artisans were the apple of the Islamic world’s eye, as they had the distinct honor of fashioning the ornate kiswa (sacred covering) for the Ka’aba in Mecca before each year’s pilgrimage was undertaken by millions. Onto the present, where the reality is a far-cry from yesteryear, with overpopulation, economic hardship and social upheaval rendering a burdensome toll on Egypt’s underprivileged masses, who still cling to their indefatigable optimism as a source of perseverance and hope. Finally, the artist envisions Egypt’s future fate, analogous to Solomon’s glorious steed, where a nation would be delivered and a saving grace would restore temporal and divine justice. A time where the old order of things would pass into obscurity, and a better world could emerge from its ashes.
Saber is adept at presenting us with realistic elements, whether symbols or objects, living or inanimate, within a framework of surrealist irrationalism. This superimposition of realist and surrealist imagery is predicated on his obsession with intricately-worked details, which constitutes the key animating factor of his art. As such, in this collection we see recurring illustrations of winged horses which symbolize spiritual ascension and artistic inspiration, big cats exemplifying power and passion, and a diverse assemblage of intriguing Egyptian characters; antiquated and modern, rural and urban, meek and affluent – each we are made to feel possessing their own indelible story behind their piercing gazes. Saber’s execution of monochromatic black and white artworks for those which detail scenes from Egypt’s past offers a pleasing balance alongside his resplendently color-soaked ones which he reserves for the present- and future-based works. Throughout he uses overt and subliminal imagery to convey his ascribed message for each period. As such we see the righteous community, solidarity and devoutness of the past; the submerging and decay of the proletariat masses in the present; and the emancipating and spiritually ascendent flight signifying our much hoped-for destiny.
