In this showing, we see her characteristic realism in abundance yet again, where she shows an adeptness and mastery of theatrical lighting and staging of her subjects and themes ranging from landscapes to portraits to figurative group settings and scenes of an oriental nature. Her emphasis on tonality and the effects of light on form and color set her painting style apart, since it is derived from the longstanding European atelier tradition of classical art. She combines these techniques to bring to life the mesmerizing world of her imagination influenced by the magic of the Orient.
Bakhoum is renowned above all as an expert colorist, with the talent for combining diverse hues and working her palette in ways that few other artists can master. In this collection, we see her characteristic patterned backgrounds and rich drapery which attribute her works a sense of regal poise. There are dreamy landscape vistas, and intriguingly dressed characters set amidst layered and stylized bordering and backgrounds, that appear deeper than merely decorative aspects of her canvases. We are also treated to vast vistas and landscapes which she punctuates with tiny figures to give a grand sense of scale and perspective, as these figures blend in perfect harmony and unison with their environments.
Bakhoum directs our attention with intuitive and detailed brushstrokes to the flowing garments and costumes of her subjects, as well as their intimate expressions and postures, which in many cases speak a wordless language of their own. There is a concerted effort to depict stage-wear in all its grandiosity, typically one of the striking aspects of Bakhoum’s art, and this collection is no exception. We often see billowing dresses with ornate embellishments, oriental subjects and characters such as; dervishes, ladies in waiting, men and women in oriental garb, religious iconography, and outerwear from Bedouin to Geisha, cloaked in resplendent clothing that seamlessly blends with the patterns and aesthetics of their backgrounds.
Bakhoum’s landscapes are ephemeral dreamscapes conjured from the artist’s rich imagination, one might even associate these impressions with stage design due to their almost idyllic yet seemingly natural impression. Bakhoum’s art renders the significance of time-honored classical training and skill in dessin and painting, a practice increasingly rare in today’s fast-changing and experimental contemporary art scene.
Katherine Bakhoum was born in Cairo in 1949 to an Egyptian father and a French mother. She spent most of her childhood in Egypt, but left when she was twelve to live in Paris. “I have very good memories of that time,” recalls Bakhoum. “Egypt was not overcrowded, and we had a happy, cosmopolitan childhood. It seems the departure left me with a certain nostalgia.”
Bakhoum studied in Paris at l’Atelier Met de Penninghen, a private school of design, D'art graphic art and interior design, under the auspices of l’Ecole Estienne, the Graduate School of the Arts and Printing Industry. Though the experience gave her the base she needed to become an artist, Bakhoum pursued her studies by experimenting with multiple media.
