Hassan El Sharq is a self-taught contemporary folk artist who originally started painting by making his own pigments from spices, rocks and flowers. He is currently categorized as one of the most unique painters in Egypt, earning the title the “20th Century Pharaoh”. El Sharq was born in 1949 in the small village of Zawyet Sultan in the governorate of el Minya, where he still lives today.

Behind every painting, El Sharq has a story to tell. His work is an iconic image of the Egyptian village with all of its hardship, love, and beauty. El Sharq dreams that one day each house would narrate a story of his on the wall, therefore seeking to categorize his work among those of affordable rates.

CLEG Art Gallery had the honor to display the paintings of this internationally renowned artist

* Winner of one of the most prestigious awards from the Arts academy in Colombia in 2001.

His paintings were displayed at:

**The Louvre museum* in Paris (modern art hall)

**Berlin museum* , Germany (where queen Nefertiti bust is exhibited)

*The State museum of *Beirut*

*The National Art Museum, Colombia

* The Egyptian Academy in Rome

*Museum of Modern Art, Cairo

*Ministry of Culture National Bank Museum, Cairo

*Egyptian Opera House Museum

*American University Museum, Cairo.

The artist is the owner and founder of “Hassan Al Sharq” Museum in Minya Governorate “Zawyet Sultan – East “The Nile”.