Damascus-SANA
The models vary, and the horizons of expression are varied, in the sculptures highlighted by the first retrospective exhibition of the work of the Syrian sculptor Fouad Abu Assaf on the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, which was held by the Ministry of Culture at the Arab Cultural Center in Abu Rummaneh.
The exhibition included 12 sculptural works of basalt, a wooden sculpture, and a number of artistic studies documented by the late, and was presented for the first time. Shaumari, the symposium also included a presentation of a film about the life of the artist Abu Assaf.
In a press statement during the opening of the exhibition, the Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mushawah, confirmed that commemorating the artist Abu Assaf through his creations and immortalizing them in the visual memory through a retrospective exhibition is a duty and a necessity to introduce the creators, embrace art, and artists, and dedicate their work to future generations, and valuing their productions, especially for a great artist who was able to To adapt the stubborn hard basalt and turn it into paintings of the most delicate, and beautiful, and smoothly made the statue translate its potentials of ideas.
Director of the Directorate of Fine Arts Waseem Abdel Hamid said in a statement to SANA reporter that the exhibition is periodic and retrospective, due to the importance of the late artist’s product in the Syrian plastic movement, as it is a bridge connecting the veteran generation with the younger generation, and is one of the most prominent faces of the artistic and cultural movement in Syria.
During the symposium, critic and media figure Saad Al-Qasim spoke about the importance of Abu Assaf's experience for Syrian sculpture, indicating that the exhibition is a memorial to the rich and important experience of the late, despite its short time, which included multiple projects, some of which were implemented and others were under implementation.
Al-Qasim indicated that the late relied on basalt as a basic material, and was associated with it with a strong relationship that he derived from the heritage of his region to dedicate artworks to veteran creators and give them his own distinctive mark with spiritual and human visions, referring to his works known for their vitality, exceptional, intellectual diversity and pluralism, and the corridors of the exhibition could accommodate only a small part of them. It was distributed in local and international galleries and large art yards.
The artist Anna gave a summary of the artistic journey of the late Abu Assaf, his project and its development in Syria and the world, in addition to his creative ideas that he presented to the young generation, where he worked hard to implement them until the last moment in his life, and the ceramics workshop was among them.
Anna touched on the human aspect of the late's life, due to his generosity and giving, in addition to the spiritual touch that distinguished his sculptures, in which he mixed human molds and sympathy with life and renounce crime and evil.
As for the wife of the late Nujoud Al-Shamri, she spoke about the personal side of the artist Abu Assaf and that he spent his life among his dreams by presenting new visions for Syrian formation, and despite the thousands of works he presented, which reached more than five thousand sculptures, he left and immortalized a legacy greater than the artistic studies that I archived and collected in a volume, and were presented in The exhibition dates back to approximately 2013.
He possessed all the intellectual and technical tools to deal with the solid basalt stone, and formed it with the most beautiful paintings within a short time, as if the stone was pliable between his fingers, and he would accomplish more than four works in one day. .
Sliwi reviewed some of the works of his late friend, including what was acquired in a number of countries of the world from official and unofficial institutions and decorated many streets, parks and public places, including the monument to the student martyr in the Faculty of Law at Damascus University, the sculpture of the Last Supper, the apple tree and the memoirs of a Syrian child The Syrian Sisyphus, the grain of wheat, as well as the sculpture of the Syrian woman that adorns one of the governorate’s squares, in addition to his contribution to the establishment of a number of international sculptural forums in As-Suwayda at Tel Jalja and the Si’a site.
It is noteworthy that the sculptor Fouad Abu Assaf was born in 1966 in the town of Saleem in the Suwayda Governorate, and worked as a professor of the sculpture department at the Institute of Applied and Plastic Arts and at the College of Fine Arts. The honored artists remembered them within the days of Syrian plastic art under the title 10,000 Years, the fourth season, which was held in December of last year.
Abu Assaf died last year at the age of 55 after a struggle with a terminal illness.
The virtues of Al-Awad and Amani Farrouj
Follow Sana's news on Telegram https://t.me/SyrianArabNewsAgency