Tuesday March 19th, 2024
Download SceneNow app

Egyptian Artist Amina Salem Uses Arabic Calligraphy to Channel Feminine Beauty

Amina Salem enjoys illustrating the beauty of femininity in artworks, and draws portraits of women with a certain depth to their gaze.

Staff Writer

Amina Salem is a young Egyptian professional artist who illustrates images of women and culture. Two different subjects tied beautifully by Salem, a full-time artist since 2011.

Salem's artwork consists of a range of cultural-meets-modern portraits, mostly of women. "I've always liked drawing women," Salem says to CairoScene. "The faces don't necessarily look Arab, but the calligraphy adds the cultural aspect to the overall feel of the painting."

One of Salem's series is the Warda (Flower) collection, in which several portraits of women are painted, each with a crown of flowers on her head.  Each oil painting has a poetry verse written in Arabic calligraphy across the painting. "Drawing these were aesthetically pleasing to me," Salem said about the series.

As a mother of two, Salem has been able to treat art as a full-time job. On holidays and weekends, Salem can work for up to 14 hours. "It's not about being in the mood. It's a commitment," Salem told us about her routine.As a professional, it's common knowledge that you work everyday, weekend or not. Salem sells her artwork at her Picasso Art Gallery. Her showroom in Heliopolis has a display of her paintings. Every year, she participates in a solo exhibition, as well as a number of other group exhibitions with other artists. She has exhibited her artwork to audiences in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United States.

Check out her Instagram for more of her work.