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The Dream Weaver

Omar Abdullatif ​

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Curated by: Mohammed Rashid Al-Thani

Opening November 2025 

 

Institute of Arab and Islamic Art at William White Studio

264 Canal St #4E, New York, NY 10013, United States

 

IAIA and William White is pleased to present The Dream Weaver, the first US exhibition of Omar Abdullatif. Born in Cairo, Egypt, this exhibition unveils Abdullatif’s paintings that embody a complex rendition of figures and landscapes which speak to narratives deeply informed by Arabic literature and philosophy. Rendered in the half light of dusk and dawn, in landscapes unanchored in time, Abdulattif’s paintings are intricate, meditative compositions that blur the boundaries between mnemonic and imaginative registers. 

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In The Dream Weaver, Abdullatif approaches the story of Joseph from sacred texts, using it as a language to examine the delicate balance between the beauty rooted in ancient narratives and the tragedy of human experience. He does not intend for his paintings to recount specific theological narratives, but rather to serve as a manifestation of emotions and self-interrogation. Abdullatif takes himself as a model, often embodying the figures in his painting, faint at times, and ever present in others, his work plays in the limbo between the known and the unknown.

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Abdulatif's state of mind is best embodied through his process of painting. Wielding his technical proficiency with deft control, he achieves hyperrealism in the conjuring of his figures, only to challenge this state through a rigorous process of layering and repetition, subduing them into a haze of mysticism. The repeated emblem of a goat’s head, severed bloodlessly from its body, ruptures the distinction between the real and the surreal, whilst figures fade into their surroundings as if subsumed in mist, time-worn memories distanced from the sharpness of the moment. Abdullatif’s unique process meditates upon the resilience and complexities of the human experience, exploring self reflection through the visual lens of historical narratives.

 

Omar Abdel-Latif(b. 1994) is an Egyptian, Cairo based artist, who received a Bachelors in Business Administration, before pursuing an apprenticeship under Egyptian artist Abu Bakr Al-Nawawi, Professor at the College of Applied Arts. Omar is a member of the Egyptian Syndicate of Fine Arts, and his work has been exhibited in numerous museums and collections in Egypt including the historical Salon du Caire(Salon of Cairo), Museum of Modern Egyptian Art and the Ministry of Culture.