Omar El Nagdi is my professor in the faculty of applied arts, he taught me art and design in both my introduction year to PhD and in Bachelors year. I consider Omar El Nagdi as the most favorite artist for me , where his artistic works are impressive in both shapes and colors. The way Omar El Nagdi use to paint makes the paintings as if it exists directly from his heart into the audience hearts
He studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts Helwan University for 5 years and gratuated from it in 1953, then he graduated from the faculty of applied arts for another 5 years. He won first place on both faculties. He then continued his training in Russia and Italy,in russia he studied for 1 year where he studied the art of decorative ceramics.He participated in many exhibitions and Biennales in Egypt, Europe and the former Soviet Union where he was awarded a one-year scholarship to study ceramics in 1959. Nagdi obtained a diploma from the Venice-based Ruskin Artistic Appreciation Institute, Italy. El-Nagdi made his mark in establishing the Egyptian identity in modern Egyptian art and has been awarded numerous awards including first prizes in Alexandria Biennale in 1966, 1968 and 1974. His works are exhibited at museums in Egypt, Italy, France, USA, England & Korea and has had numerous solo and collective exhibitions around the world. After that he went to Italy and studied the mural Arts at Menisci Academy for 5 years, Then he studied the Mosaic Art at Ravenna Academy in Italy.
"The difference between Picasso and Me is that Picasso was the artist of a period, but I'm the artist of a moment" Omar El Nagdi
All the various type of art he learned in his life was the way that lead him to dive in both subjects, materials and techniques
He was influenced by the works of several famous artists, like picasso, he considered him as a symbol. He was most influenced by the works of the Egyptian artist Ahmed Sabry, he considered him as one of the greatest professors of classic plastic Art in Egypt. Before going abroad he studied the western style of drawing, with all of it's schools of art like impretion, expression and realistic school. On the head of all these art school are 3 great artists, whom he respect deeply, and he studied thier works deeply, One of them are Cezanne who he learned from him how to make his work to be with hight quality, he learned from him the composition, which is the subject that Omar El Nagdi teaches it in Faculty of Applied Arts. The second one is gauguin whom he learned from him the using of colors. The third artist was Van Gogh whom his works was full of passion, he was just a passionate artist, he was drawing the essence of drawing elements not the shape of them, as we can find how his trees in his works are shakes.
Also he believe the the Islamic art is a very fine type of art, it was the orientalists who wrote a lot about the Islamic art describing it as decorative art, and for sorrow several Egyptians and Arabs artists were influenced by them, while in fact the Islamic art in the opinion of Dr. Omar El nagdi is not a decorative art, but the Muslims artist precede the westerns to inventing the perspective of color through the study of color waves in their art works, so the Muslim artist was planing and drawing the dimensions and perspective for his works and we can never consider it as decorative art, the same for Omar El Nagdi's work where he use his private perspective, where he deny the three dimensions completely, and make the perspective to be suits the subject of every art work
Most of Omar El Nagdi's artwork are about "The family" in general, because he believe that men and women are the key elements of life, as women can't live all by themselves neither men, both of them co-operate for life to go on. He used various of materials in his works for example :sand, rocks,... he founded a group by the name of Mosaic in 1964.
Omar El-Nagdi's remakable work of art is well presented and lately admired in many private exhibitions, museums, and foundations particularly in Italy, the united Kingdom, the united states, Japansouth korea France and beyond. All these made a former ambassador of Europe union in Egypt France Heinrich to establish Omar El-Nagdi Museum in her property in France, the main attraction of the museum, in the largest gallery is the monumental Sraivo which is 13 meter large X 3.20 meters high which dated back to 1994.
Omar El Nagdi has several one man show exhibition and collective exhibitions like the one in Italy which include 26 artists including Picasso and Dali and another one with 100 artists including Monet
