The face of the word

---

Inaugurated earlier this month at Al-Hanager where it runs until 20 December, Nevine Guindy's latest exhibition comprises a series of 21 oil portraits of Naguib Mahfouz. The paintings are the fruit of a two- year project, each one of the "portraits constituting this collection [having been] captured in a single sitting in the different locations Mahfouz chose as meeting places with his admirers", says Guindy.

As a child, the artist was introduced by her uncle, the late Hosny Guindy, Al-Ahram Weekly 's founding editor-in-chief, to eminent portrait painter Sabry Ragheb. In previous exhibitions, one sensed that Guindy's training in Ragheb's studio had left too strong a mark on the disciple's technique. In this exhibition, however, Guindy, culling influences from a whole range of artists, including Van Gogh and Renoir, develops her own style and comes into her own.

George Bahgory