CARAVAN Board Member Sylvia van Vliet Ragheb shares her top pick.
Armen Agop, Mantra: Untitled 129, 2013, Black granite, 70x70x19cm
I went to visit Armen in Pietrasanta, Italy and am a proud owner of one of his sculptures. His heritage - being Armenian-Egyptian and carrying both cultures within himself - reflects the natural world, most notably the desert. His work, through its meditative qualities, raises questions about life and the very nature of serenity.
Footage from Meem Gallery
Article in Juliet Art Magazine
Article in Islamic Arts Magazine
Sylvia van Vliet Ragheb is the co-Founder of Syra Arts, a gallerist and specialist in contemporary Arab art. Originally from the Netherlands, she is a graduate of the Schoevers Institute in Nijmegen, studied French at the Sorbonne in Paris, and has since lived in Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. While in Egypt she became immersed in the Egyptian art scene.
Following the “Egyptian Revolution,” Sylvia moved to Washington DC, co-founding Syra Arts, with a gallery in the Georgetown area promoting Egyptian and Middle Eastern artists in the US. Her gallery represents some of the Middle East's leading contemporary painters, sculptors, and jewelry designers. She also represents the renowned Egyptian jeweler, Azza Fahmy, in the United States.