Mohamed Abouelnaga (b. 1960, Tanta) is aprominent Egyptian multidisciplinary visual artist, art professor, curator, and developer known for his work in painting, installation, and paper-making. He is recognized for his contribution to contemporary art through environmentally conscious projects and for fostering art education. He is a graduate of the University of Alexandria, holding both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts from the Faculty of Arts (1983, 1992), followed by a doctorate in philosophy of art (1997).

Abouelnaga is specially renowned for utilizing handmade paper as a creative medium, a practice that developed following his master’s studies and his interests in the materials of Islamic manuscripts and Japanese ‘washi’ art. In 1996, Abouelnaga was the recipient of a study grant from the Japan Foundation to study, a landmark moment in his career where he observed master papermakers at work. Attracted to the idea of working with localized materials, he applied the principles at home, working with multiple materials for his handmade paper, among which is Egyptian. Exploring the materiality of traditional paper based works, Abouelnaga paints in contemporary, expressionistic mode that balances figuration and abstraction with a masterfully controlled color palette.

Abouelnaga’s work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout his homeland in exhibitions at Atelier Cairo, Alexandria Atelier, Masharabya Gallery, Hotel Sofitel Hurghada, Art Center Ekhanaton Zamalek, Town House Gallery, Karim Francis Gallery, Art Lounge Cairo and Gallery Daee. He is similarly well established overseas with an exhaustive list of exhibitions and projects throughout the world including the Middle East, Europe, Asia and South America.

Aboulnaga is a seasoned figure on the international art fair scene, participating in the Alexandria Biennial (2001), the Biennale Argentina (2001), Lithuania Trienalle (2003), the Festival del Popoli Mediterranei (Italy, 2005), the Festival Mondial des Arts Negres (Darkar, 2006), the Singapore Art Fair (2014), the Islamic Arts Festival (Sharjah, 2014), the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial (2016), and the Dubai Art Fair (2017). He has twice exhibited at the Abu Dhabi Art Fair (2011, 2012) and, most significantly, participated in the 2002 Venice Biennale representing Egypt.

Within his homeland, Abouelnaga’s work is held in collections at the Museum of Modern Art (Cairo) and the Opera House (Cairo). International collections holding works include the National Museum of Jordan, the Paper Academy (Kyoto), the Arab Fund (Kuwait) and LACMA (Los Angeles). Abouelnaga features in private collections, notably those of HH Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (Sharjah), the Shuman Foundation (Amman) and Tarek Al-Jayyeda (Doha).

Awards received by Abouelnaga include prizes from the Youth Salon (1992, 1993), the International Cairo Biennale (1998), the Alexandria Biennale (2001), the Egyptian State Prize for Painting (2001), and the Danube Video Art Festival (2013). He was the recipient of the UNESCO-ASCHBERG Fellowship (1994) and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture Fellowship (1995-1998).

Abouelnaga is currently a professor at the Specific Educations Faculty at Cairo University, a position he has held since 2000. Previous academic positions include professorships at the Higher Institute of Applied Arts (Giza, 1998-2000), the Arab Academy for Sciences and Technology (Cairo, 1998-2002), and the Arab Academy for Sciences and Technology (Alexandria, 1996-1998).

Abouelnaga balances his career as an artist and educator with professional curatorial roles in Egypt and abroad. He is currently a curator at Mojo Art Gallery (Dubai), a position he has held since 2013, alongside advisory roles at Nabad Gallery (Amman) and ADC Gallery (Los Angeles). Between 2010 and 2016 he was curator at the Visual Art Center of the Qatari Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. Abouelnaga has been the general commissioner for the Alexandria Biennial (2009) as well as commissioner for numerous projects with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007). He was the curator of the Sharjah International Biennial for Children’s Arts (2012).

He is a fellow of Ashoka, a global network of leading entrepreneurs, and the founder of El Nafeza Foundation for Contemporary Art & Development where he organizes workshops for Egyptian youth around the process of artmaking and papermaking by recycling agricultural refuse.