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square or rectangular cube, is still evident. Kamel employs the heavy monumental forms of ancient Egypt, and like those artists he retains the integrity of the blocks from which he carves.
century European sculptors have inspired his work
Simplified forms used by 20th
In addition to the Egyptian tradition, Kamel has studied the work of 20th century European sculptors, including Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore and Jacques Lipshitz whose increasingly simplified forms have inspired his work.
In Reclining Figure, 2000, produced in rose granite, Kamel has reduced form to a graceful curvilinear block with subtle circular indentations, protrusions and rounded edges. Subsequent works in stone become more severely geometric and reductivist, excluding unnecessary detail. Seated Figure of 2001 has the powerful geometric form of a chair or throne. Often Kamel includes bronze elements and may incorporate more than one colour of granite in a single sculpture. For casting bronze he has his own foundry and works with assistants to cast his sculpture using the lost wax process. The Royal Chair of 2006 continues the idea of the throne in bold geometric forms, but this time there are interlocking forms in different coloured black and grey granite. The articulation of sharp vertical and horizontal angles provides a powerful energy for this work.
The King and Queen of 2005 is made out of a single huge block with the closed forms of its two massive geometric figures expressed in cubic form. The sculpture has the cubic character, weight and gravity of the architectural features of ancient buildings. In this work Kamel defines and renders explicit the internal energy of the forms, their forces and interrelationships. The tension of the various planes is contained within the cubic structure. With its perfect planes and clear spatial relationships, this sculpture exudes the purity and simplicity of line, form and mass.
King and Queen, 2005
Kamel’s new work, Within the Cube, 2010 is composed of different elements which are all derived from the cube. He is interested in exploring the inner system of the cube and his analysis is expressed through different forms. Kamel uses the cube to unify, both the diversity and heterogeneity of the various internal/external volumetric pressures and their particular dynamic characteristics. The trajectories, movements, positions and points of view allow a complex synthesis in the final composition. He began with the central motif of the human head in bronze which is expressed in geometric form – a cube with rounded edges. On this very simplified form he has moulded narrow oblong ears and simple facial features. These facial features are the most representational elements seen in his recent work. A second element is a series of small four-
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