Mohamed Mandour was born in 1950 in Al Fostat, Old Cairo, where he learnt and worked since his early childhood in the renowned conventional potteries of this neighborhood. In 1967, he joined an atelier in Helwan founded by the painter Sophia Helmy and sculptor Mohamed Hagrass. Swiftly the artist moved to his own identity gaining his own style from his neighborhood but inspired by the divine form of Islamic and pharonic pottery shapes.
Today Mandour is considered the landmark of modern pottery in the Middle East. In 1979, he was awarded the ceramic prize in plastic art of the French Cultural Center and the Egyptian public authority of mass culture. In 1981, Mandour won the first prize in the exhibition of young artists – Friends of Fine Arts Society. Following that, he won the prize of the Egyptian society for devotees of Fine Arts “Talaie Exhibition” in 1987. Mandour won the appreciation prize of the national Egyptian society for Fine Arts in 1992. He also won the prize of the Cairo Second Ceramics Biennale. Following that, he won the prize of the Venice Biennale in Italy in 2002. Mandour won the prize of the International Ceramics Biennale in Cairo.
Among Mandour’s patrons comes the international Museum for Ceramics – Venice, World Bank – USA, Egyptian Art Academy in Rome, The British Council – Egypt, Shikha Thabigah – Bahrain, National Museum of Syria – Damascus, Museum of Egyptian Modern Art, Mubarak Library – Giza, Library of Greater Cairo, First Lady Suzan Mubarak – Egypt, HRH Prince Charles – Great Britain, Egyptian Opera House and Cairo Conference Center – Egypt. Artist Mahmoud Mandour is currently living and working at Al Fostat where he started his life and where his magnificent art was once born.
Al Masar Gallery had the pleasure of exhibiting Mohamed Mandour’s art in a solo-exhibition “The Potterist | Mohammed Mandour” in 2009.
