The Big Cat

Ed 5/8. Adam Henein is one of the most prominent contemporary sculptors of the Arab World. Throughout his career, he produced a considerable number of large and small-scale pieces, using a variety of materials, such as granite, bronze, plaster, limestone and terracotta. His early works embody the graceful solidity of ancient Egyptian statuary and express a sense of simplicity in the treatment of mass and volumes. They recall ancient sculptures, such as the scribe commonly known as the "Sheikh el-Balad," now at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, as well as the works of Mahmoud Mokhtar (1891 - 1934). During the 1960's, Henein sculpted a series of animals, such as birds, cats, dogs, owls, goats, horses and donkeys, expressing just their minimal and essential lines and features.