The Estate of Wassef Boutros-Ghali

Wassef Boutros-Ghali was a painter born into a family of politicians in Cairo, Egypt in 1924. Showing an early proficiency in the arts, he later joined the studio of Jaro Hilbert, a classically trained painter who became Boutros-Ghali’s mentor. Eventually, Boutros-Ghali left his political legacy to pursue a career in architecture. He served as a technical consultant for the environment and urbanism with the United Nations, and executed building in Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Sudan. All the while, he continued his artistic practice.

His evolution as an artist was also precipitated by restrictive circumstance. Political revolution and a necessary relocation in 1963 constrained his access to artistic materials and supplies. Nonetheless he persevered, creating an experimental body of work that informed his artistic process throughout his life. Boutros-Gauli moved to New York in 1971 where his practice was further elevated, invigorated by the art scene there at the time. Larger canvases and abstracted forms became more prominent in his work. Additionally, he replaced oils with acrylics as his choice medium.

Upon returning to Cairo in 1985, Boutros-Ghali’s compositions featured vibrant colors that convey energy and motion as well as a geometry that bares notes of modern architecture. Harmony and balance are made visible through asymmetry combined with a subtle tension in the preservation of the optical experience of space. With subjects based on mythology, nuanced observations of daily life, and stories influenced by dreams, creating works that speak to the pure and unrestricted physicality of painting. Boutros-Ghali continued to paint until his death in 2023 in Cairo.

Boutros-Ghali’s work is included in the collections of the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE and the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL, USA. His 2023 solo exhibitions include Wassef Boutros-Ghali: Echoes of Creativity, albertz benda, Los Angeles and Wassif Boutros-Ghali Arts Club London, curated by Wedel Art, London, UK. He was featured in the group exhibition, Exhibition Nº 120 (maybe) at Galerie Balice Hertling, Paris, FR in 2022.