Art on a Postcard for War Child UK

About 

Nada Elkalaawy (b.1995) is an Egyptian artist living and working in London. She holds an MFA in Painting from the Slade School of Fine Art (2018) and BA in Fine Art from Kingston University (2016). She is predominantly a painter, but also works with drawing, animation and tapestry.  

Education 

2016 – 2018 MFA Fine Art Painting – Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London (UK) 

2014 – 2016 BA Fine Art – Kingston University, London (UK) 

2013 – 2014 BA Architecture – Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (UK) 

Select Exhibitions/Awards 

Elkalaawy recently had solo shows at Taymour Grahne Projects (London), Galerie DuflonRacz (Bern) and Gypsum Gallery (Cairo). She participated in group shows in numerous venues including: Marlborough Gallery (London); Svetova1 (Prague); Kunstraum Dreiviertel (Bern); KINO DER KUNST (Munich); Sharjah Art Gallery (Cairo); Shubbak Festival (London); Southwark Park Galleries (London); Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz (Berlin); Nahim Isaias Museum (Guayaquil) and Refugees Museum (Thessaloniki) amongst others. Her work has been shortlisted for the Sainsbury Scholarship for the British School at Rome, the Waverton Art Prize, the ACS Studio Prize, Contemporary British Painting Prize, the Dentons Art Prize, and the Sarabande Emerging Art fund. It has also been published in Vogue Arabia, the Evening Standard, Sky News Arabia and Jdeed magazine. Elkalaawy completed the Pro Helvetia Studio Residency, PROGR (Bern) in 2021 and has forthcoming residencies at Montresso Art Foundation (Marrakech) and L’appartement 22 (Rabat). Her work is included in the X Museum collection (Beijing), Soho House collection (London) and private collections worldwide. 

Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork   

The works are a continuation of a series I have been working on that explores the uncanny presence and materiality of porcelain figurines, focusing on the contrast between the solidity of the medium and its fluid look. Aiming to emulate real figures, the figurines still lack emotion and are hollow inside, providing space to be filled. This eerie contrast makes one wonder what happens when a tiny empty vessel is rendered larger than life and is given another solid reality, does it remain a lifeless double of a real object, or does it take on other qualities. Complexity, mystery, and humour can be found in these images as it is not certain whether the paintings describe the original decorative collectibles, a filtered reality, or maybe real identities. 

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