Samir Rafi (Egyptian, 1926-2004)

Samir Rafi was a member of the Group of Contemporary Art, an artist collective founded in 1946, which included such artists as Youssef Kamel, Ibrahim Masuda, al-Habshi, Mohamad Khalil and Ahmad Mahaer, and was among its leading proponents of surrealism, along with his colleagues Abdul Hadi El-Gazzar and Hamed Nada. The goal of the Group of Contemporary Art was to highlight the relationship of art to society and popular culture and to adapt to modern forms and technique.

Infused with surrealism and symbolism, Samir Rafi’s oeuvre is dictated by his strong outlines and little sense of perspective. The flat shapes and color plains resemble collages and are reminiscent of the child-like designs on the walls of the poor streets of Cairo, and the murals on the facades of the Nubian Houses. His work embodies the concerns and artistic sensibilities of a pioneering group of young painters active in Egypt in the 1950s. The presented piece depicts a still life consisting of a narguile, a chair, and a sparrow, where we can clearly see how Rafi employs his knowledge of color plains and his use of bold lines.