New York: Europe and the Arabs
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, a collection of paintings by the renowned Egyptian cartoonist and illustrator Amr Fahmy was displayed, conveying a "message of peace and rapprochement between humanity." The exhibition brought together paintings of global figures who have transcended their geography and left their mark on the collective memory, becoming "stars" that illuminate the sky. According to the UN's daily news bulletin,
For Amr Fahmy, his exhibition, titled "Stars in the Sky," is not just an artistic display, but rather a call for peace and human convergence through art.
The Arab Club at the United Nations, headed by colleague Nabil Midani, organized the exhibition with the support of the Egyptian Permanent Mission to the United Nations and a group of Arab-American organizations.
The exhibition was inaugurated at the United Nations headquarters in New York by Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, in the presence of a group of diplomats and figures from the Arab-American community in the United States. Art as a Bridge to Peace
In an interview with UN News in front of his paintings, Fahmy said that the concept of the exhibition revolves around global figures who have had an impact that transcended borders, from the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to the famous football player Mohamed Salah, and from the English writer William Shakespeare and the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci to the American media personality Oprah Winfrey.
Fahmy portrays his characters in his own unique style, and his message is: "We are all one, each searching for peace in his own way, and I search for it with my brush and colors."
The exhibition's journey began in Italy, where it opened its first show at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. It then traveled between London and Paris, before settling in New York. In each country, Fahmy painted its prominent figures.
Satirical Art with a Classical Spirit
Fahmy's style blends classicism and modernity. He uses oil paints and traditional materials on canvas, and his painting style belongs to the satirical art of caricature. However, he explains: "Caricature is not distortion, but rather artistic exaggeration. It expresses my own vision of the person I am drawing."
Amr Fahmy spoke with UN News about the painting of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, depicting him sitting on the ground in an Egyptian cloak with a dove of peace on his shoulder, emphasizing his love for simplicity and Egyptian traditions and embodying his work for peace.
Fahmy said he painted a portrait of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, but it was exceptional in its artistic style, as he painted it in a classical style. He added, "This painting expresses my gratitude as an Arab Egyptian citizen for the Secretary-General's support for Arab issues."
Art in Times of Crisis
In times of crisis and conflict, Amr Fahmy believes that art has a significant role to play. He says art is a message. He cites his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he painted the Mona Lisa wearing a mask in an awareness-raising artwork that reflected the reality of the time.
He emphasized, "An artist must be a well-read, educated person who captures issues and expresses them through visual work that reaches all people without the need for translation. Art is a language that everyone understands."
In other paintings, he uses his brush to address some of the problems that hinder progress and development. In another, he embodies the rejection of terrorism, depicting a man holding a fly swatter, trying to shoo away an insect labeled "terrorism." This painting depicts the struggle against extremism in a sarcastic yet profoundly meaningful way. At the conclusion of the dialogue, Egyptian artist Amr Fahmy addressed a message to the world from the heart of the United Nations: "I hope that representatives of all countries here at the United Nations will strive to work for a just peace, a peace of truth, goodness, and beauty. Because, ultimately, we are human beings, and we must stand together in solidarity."