Artist Belqacem makes a round-the-world trip from Sana’a [Archives:2005/904/Last Page]
Amar Ben Belgacem, a Tunisian-French painter, is doing a round-the-world trip featuring his works with Sana'a being the starting point. The trip includes Berlin, Germany, in March, 2006, where he will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tunisian National Day. Then, he will travel to Paris, in particular to the UNESCO Palace in April where a significant exposure of colors organized by the permanent delegation of Tunisia at UNESCO will take place in France. After that, his gallery will be shown in Tunis, his homeland, in May. The trip will cover also Washington and other countries that “welcome and appreciate the modern Tunisian art” as he said during his gallery which was inaugurated on Wednesday Dec 14, 2005, at the French Cultural Center (Henry De Monfried Center). The Paris-based artist has procured with him fifteen paintings which are now on display.
Amar is a plastic artist who belongs to abstractionism. All his paintings have vivid colors.
Describing his work he said: “My paintings are a scream for peace; an invitation for singing, love and adoration. They are very quite. They do not call for violence or hatred but for love and peace. Each of them is like a song that invites people to dance.”
He expressed his happiness to be in Yemen in his first visit to “this magical country” which he used to hear about. “For me, Yemen is the twentieth country to have galleries in. Others include Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Belgium, France, and Tunis,” he added.
Amar Balqasim was the youngest plastic artist in Tunisia. He started picking up the brush when he was just ten years old and set up the first gallery when he was eleven.
“I always liked plastic arts and vivid colors which permeate into the soul soothing it and relieving the inner tension. For this purpose, I chose right from my childhood to become a plastic artist. When I was ten, I set off on my journey as an artist. My parents encouraged me. So, I have a 16-year-old experience in color art.”
Concerning the artists who influenced him, he pointed to late Ali bin Salim, a Tunisian plastic art celebrity. There were also international painters, French and Swiss.
“These artists gave me the appetite to apply the principles of art and visit the various world countries to display my works,” he described. “They influenced me in terms of color. I use vivid, eye-catching colors such as orange which I see in my garden, green which I see in tree leaves and yellow which I see in the sun.”
I am a poet:
Amar Belgacem considers himself to be a poet but of a different type. “I am a poet,” he said. “My poetry, however, is written in color and not words. My paintings are visual songs. My works are inspired by the twittering of sparrows and the fascinating sceneries, which I have viewed during my travels around the world. Yemen's nature is very inspiring too. These are the necessary elements which are specific to Yemen. Most importantly, there is the amenity of the Yemeni people.”
He has met some Yemeni artists and will meet others. He realized that the Yemeni plastic artists “produce creative works of real value. They also have the aptitude to create more.”
During his current visit to Yemen, which will extend until Dec 23, he will be speaking to student of plastic art schools in different areas such as Hodeidah and Dhamar.
Art is my life:
“Art is my life,” replied Amar when asked about the importance of art for him. “I adore plastic arts because they are my life. It is very important for me to put intimate colors on white paper.”
In his childhood in Tunisia, he used to stay in a house near the sea with a garden full of flowers. That refined his aesthetic sense. In Paris, he lived in Fountainplaeu, a place near the forest. “That allowed me to keep my communion with the natural surroundings which are vital for art production. You can perceive that there is green in all my paintings; green is everywhere because green is life. I need peace and my art is an invitation for peace, love and friendship.”
On his part, Alain Joly, the Director of the French Cultural Center described the event as “a great occasion.” The Director said that it is significant because the artist is a Frenchman who is also from North Africa. “French culture is not only coming from the roots of France but also from all around the world specifically from Tunisia, a country with the second largest community in France.”
He revealed that more events will be organized in the future involving more artists and also dancers. “Urban dancers from foreign countries will perform and of course Yemeni traditional dancers.”
Organized by the Embassy of Tunisia along with the French Cultural Center, the gallery was inaugurated by the Tunisian Ambassador to Yemen. The exhibition was also attended by the Egyptian Ambassador, artists, writers and interested people.
After the inauguration of the gallery, there was a show of “The Silence of Palaces,” a Tunisian movie which delineates the story of a low-class girl who wanted to be a singer.
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