In the heart of Mshereib Downtown Doha (MDD), a place where heritage meets innovation, Al Markhiya Gallery inaugurated “Identities of Perfection”, a solo exhibition featuring the works of the late Egyptian artist Hazem El Mestikawy.
The exhibition is a dialogue where architectural language merges with contemporary geometry.
A collaboration between Msheireb Museums and Al Markhiya Gallery, the works are installed within the historic walls of Mohammed Bin Jassim House, one of four heritage houses restored as part of the Msheireb Museums spaces.
El Mestikawy's artistic practice sits at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and optical illusion.
Through site-responsive installations, the works reshape space, seeking to achieve a balance between geometric order and visual harmony.
Drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian heritage influenced by modern abstraction, El Mestikawy’s works reinterpret traditional elements.
His use of mashrabiyas, Arab ornamentation, and geometric networks create pure, contemplative compositions that speak to both the intellect and emotion.
El Mestikawy’s preferred materials – cardboard and corrugated paper – introduce a deliberate fragility that reflects on temporality, colour, and human creativity.
Through contrasts of texture and tone, he created a rhythmic visual balance that echoes the logic of geometry.
Located within the MDD, a district whose architecture celebrates modernity as a living framework for daily life, the Mohammed Bin Jassim House provides a space where El Mestikawy's works resonate naturally.
The Mohammed Bin Jassim House deepens this dialogue between architecture and space, connecting past and present.
On the sideline of the inauguration ceremony, Msheireb Museums curator Bashir Mohammed told *Gulf Times: “‘Identities of Perfection’ is a tribute to the late Hazem El Mestikawy.”
“His legacy continues to expand our understanding of the form and geometry,” he said. “I see Hazem not only as an artist, but (also) as a researcher and a philosopher.”
“His approach in every single work is a profound investigation to the form, the balance, and to the essence of the beauty itself,” Mohammed added.