Egyptian artist, poet and art critic, Ahmed Morsi graduated from the University of Alexandria’s Faculty of Arts with a major in English Literature. He published his first collection of poems, Songs of the Temples / Steps in Darkness in 1949 at the age of 19. Beginning his formal studies in the visual arts in 1952, Morsi seamlessly move between Alexandria’s long established literary circles and the developing art scene.
By his early twenties, the artist was already participating in group exhibitions with Egypt's most renowned modern artists, including, Mahmoud Moussa, Ibrahim Massouda, Abdel Hadi el- Gazzar, Hassan el-Telmisani, and Hamed Nada. His work was included in the inaugural exhibition of the city's Museum of Fine Arts in Alexandria.
Moving to Baghdad in 1955, Morsi encountered a cultural renaissance, which enabled him to hone his art criticism and mature his own artistic practice alongside several Iraqi contemporaries. Returning to Egypt, the artist moved to Cairo in 1957 where he started to design stage sets and costumes for The National Theater and Cairo Opera House.
In 1974, the artist emigrated to New York and started experimenting with Lithography and photography. He is still writing and painting from his home in Manhattan. A recent retrospective of the artist’s work titled Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination was held by The Sharjah Art Foundation.
Ahmed Morsi’s works have been collected by various institutions including: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; Barjeel Foundation, Sharjah; Museum of Egyptian Modern Art, Cairo; Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria.
