Discussion on figurative and abstract art at Café Philo on Sunday

CAIRO – 2 December 2017: Café Philo at the SOMA Art School and Gallery in Zamalek will be hosting a discussion on the differences and history between figurative and abstract art on December 3.

Café Philo is a French grassroots forum aimed at hosting philosophical and artistic discussions, founded by Marc Sautet in 1992. The discussion is hosted by the Institut Français d'Égypte. Discussions will be moderated by feminist writer and art historian, Huda Lutfi.

Born in Cairo in 1948, Lutfi has been working with visual arts her entire life, with an interest in allowing marginalized voices to be heard.

Figurative art as a genre is a relatively recent creation, having arisen as a form of response to the rise of abstract art in the 20th century, advanced by cubism which was a movement pioneered by master artist Pablo Picasso. On the other hand, abstract art is aimed at being divorced from reality and creating new perceptions. Figurative art is aimed at describing any form of modern art that aims to still represent reality.

Yet figurative art is still distinct from realism. Rather than taking cues from older art movements, it uses more modern styles and advancements. Despite having pioneered abstract art, Picasso is also an example of a figurative painter, especially with much of the artwork he did after 1920. Other artists who experimented with figurative art include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.