Mansour El Habre celebrates a Septennial of Drawing in his latest show at Art on 56th.
In his latest exhibition “Works on Paper 2016–2023”, Mansour El Habre showcases a
septennial of drawings and other artworks, in a show dedicated to his practice
Mansour El Habre as a painter and educator, stresses the importance of drawing in his artistic practice. Over the years, he has accumulated sets, or ‘groups’, of drawings that have accompanied his personal and professional experiences. He attests that he draws from observation, not memory. Drawing is a daily activity of his, and in fact, the sets of drawings express either events or ‘situations’. These situations may vary; they can be a woman, other individuals, a university course, or people at a café. As each group of drawings carries a certain event, interpretation is yet another layer that is added on top.
“Drawing does not originate from memory, nor is it born of it. It is not a recollection of the past; rather, it is a subject or a state. It manifests within a specific temporal reality, occurring right before me,” the artist Mansour El Habre states.
“I begin drawing first, at varying speeds—sometimes with immediate force, and at other times with slow deliberation. Then comes the colour, which is an experiment with different, varied, and sometimes interwoven materials.”
“Drawing conceals the painting. Drawing reveals the drawing, and drawing reveals the painting. This entire process creates the ‘game’ or ‘play’.
This is a complex, layered, intricate, and non-simplified matter. Play or game is based on tension, contradiction, hiding, merging, fusion, and risk-taking.
The game or play occurs on the field, between drawing and painting. Then, afterwards, at the end of the game or play, drawing and painting may become one.”
Throughout “Works on Paper 2016–2023”, he unveils a septennial of his drawings and other artistic works. The show is an amalgamation of his processes and end-results.
Maie El Hage - Art historian
