Wassef Boutros-Ghali ~ Painter

In the canvases of Wassef Boutros-Ghali, a sea of Aegean inspired blue is dotted with black sails. Colors informed by a knowledge of unrelenting sunlight flood the flat plane of the canvas. Architectural forms emerge, collide and reengineer themselves without a narrative in dazzling abstract compositions. With subjects based on mythology, on nuanced observations of daily life or stories conjured with the simplicity of dreams, Boutros-Ghali’s artwork speaks to the pure and unrestricted physicality of painting.

Born in Cairo to a family of statesmen and politicians, Wassef Boutros-Ghali was drawn to the arts at an early age. As a teenager he demonstrated great natural skill as a draftsman. He joined the studio of Jaro Hilbert, a classically trained painter and inspirational teacher. Boutros-Ghali set aside the political legacy of his family and devote himself to a career in architecture, and then turned to painting. Boutros-Ghali served as a technical consultant for the environment and urbanism with the United Nations and executed buildings in Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Sudan, in addition to growing his commitment to his artwork.