BRITT BOUTROS-GHALI | Life in Colour : presented by Varvara Roza Galleries
This landmark Frieze Week exhibition unveils Britt's most ambitious canvases to date.
A rare opportunity to experience the work of a pioneering voice in postwar abstraction whose body of work spans more than six decades.
Born in 1937 in Svolvær, Norway, the earliest years of this powerhouse were spent in the shadow of World War II, and it was during the long postwar winters of her childhood that she first found creative sanctuary via the canvas - the dramatic light shifts of the northern hemisphere a formative influence on her visual language. She has since devoted her entire life to radical self-expression, creating emotive large-scale canvases that merge gestural abstraction and cultural resonance in a near-obsessive pursuit of beauty.
Since the early-1970s Ghali has made Egypt her home, dividing her time between studios in Cairo and the North Coast, near Alexandria, and she has had a profound impact on the artistic and cultural landscape of her adopted homeland. Her home and studio in Agami, adorned with her signature mosaics and murals, is a destination for collectors, curators and cultural leaders from around the world.
As such, Ghali is widely regarded as one of the most important abstract painters in the Middle East, with work held in many important public and private collections, including MOMA, Egypt and the Queen Noor Museum of Modern Art, Aman, Jourdan.
'm very much an action painter. I start painting, and then I just build on and on. The wonderful thing is that when you are in that energy, you don't have time to think of politics or society - there is nothing that can disturb you. It is a sort of transcendence … I have many more layers in my work than I used to have. It's interesting, because my early work was much calmer, and much more serene and, in a sense, dreamy. The energy coming through the work right now is much more powerful. But I think the energy that comes through is reflective of the times we are living in. I empty myself completely in my thoughts when I paint and then some sort of energy starts coming, which grows and grows." - Britt Boutros Ghali
Since her very first exhibition in Paris in 1962, Ghali has built a truly impressive legacy, and the significance of her illustrious career has been recognised with three prestigious awards. In 1996, she received the St. Olav's Order, Norway's highest artistic honour, previously awarded to Edward Munch. In 2010, she was awarded the Slovak Presidential Order for Art and Culture, and her leading role in the cultural life of Egypt was recognised in 2023, when she was bestowed with a lifetime achievement award for Women in the Arts from the Egyptian National Council for Women. Ghali's acclaimed Women of My World series is a vivid example of her capacity to embody spontaneity and physicality in her work, portraying feminine strength through explosive layers of colour, fabric and light.
"I just want my work to have soul and transmit a feeling of beauty. And I want the paintings that leave my studio to communicate that sense of soul and positive energy when they come into a home. For me, painting is like life, and I feel that in my life I have to create something beautiful and put it into the world. I also create beautiful surroundings where I live, and I make sure that I have wonderful friends and that we eat well. I want things to be beautiful. I don't think these new technologies being used to make art now can give work that kind of beauty, or soul." - Britt Boutros Ghali
Drawing inspiration from the traditions of action painting and colour field abstraction, Ghali's work is deliberately enigmatic and open to interpretation, inviting the viewer into a place of freedom where their imagination can take flight. As she has previously stated: "I don't want to paint suffering, there's too much of that in the world already. I want the paintings to be healing."
Now in her 88th year, Ghali is at the zenith of her powers, and her pioneering legacy continues to unfold with unwavering momentum. This is reflected in the ambitious scale of the remarkable new canvases presented this October at Varvara Roza Galleries, London in collaboration with TRAFFICARTS; a rare opportunity during Frieze Week to experience the work of an artist who is creating the best work of her career to date.
