User:Besadayakoub/sandbox

= Besada Yakoub (sculptor) = Besada Yakoub (born 1972 in Akhmim, Egypt) is an Coptic-American sculptor, painter, and artisan. he is self-taught artist and works with various materials such as granite, basalt, limestone, marble, wood, metal, clay, and plaster. he is also a Coptic who immigrated to the United States in 1999.in 2018, he created a new style of

abstract sculpture called Obeliskism, which means using the geometry of obelisk shapes to create artBesada began making animals with clay at the age of 7 and started carving wood and working with metal at the age of 12. His father took him to the ancient Egyptian tombs on the west bank of the Nile River where he was fascinated by the art and culture he saw. In 1991, he took a clay class while studying at the Institute of Monument Restoration in Qena, Egypt. In 1992, he attended a workshop in Luxor where he learned to carve reliefs in native limestone at the age of 19.

In 1993, Besada moved to Luxor and established a studio there. He began carving statues based on ancient Egyptian carvings and experimented with oil painting. His work was exhibited and sold through the Extra Gallery in Cairo and was featured in various newspapers, magazines, and television stations in Egypt. Subhi Al-Sharouni, a famous art critique wrote about Besada Yakoub in a newspaper. In 1994, he moved to an artist commune next to the Red Sea in El Gouna where he fell in love with carving harder stones like granite and basalt after meeting famous Egyptian carver Abdel Badia Abdel Hay. He also carved sculptures inspired by the coral reefs and marine life of the Red Sea.

In 1997, Besada participated in a workshop at the Aswan International Symposium of Sculpture where he carved a life-size black granite bust titled “Sad Woman”. The governor of Aswan put this piece on permanent display in the city. In 1998, Besada received the prestigious Hassan Heshmat award from the Fine Art Society of Cairo for his black granite sculpture “Duck Romantic”. At this time, he was also commissioned to reproduce five ancient Egyptian reliefs for the El Gouna Museum in Hurghada.

In 1999, Besada immigrated to the United States to further his career as a sculptor. He studied art briefly at the Art Students League in New York and became involved with the National Sculpture Society in 2000 when he participated in their annual exhibition. In 2004, he showed his work at the Pavilion Art Gallery at Virtua Memorial Hospital in New Jersey.

In 2001, Besada was hired by the Johnson Atelier Stone Division as a master carver. This facility provided him with the tools and space to produce granite sculptures which are his life’s work. He received the Herk Van Tongeren Memorial Sculpture Award in 2001 which he used to establish his own studio in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

In 2003, Besada received a grant from the George and Helen Segal Foundation which he used to purchase stone for his current projects. He worked at the Atelier for two and a half years until they closed their Stone Division. He then decided to work full-time in his studio.

In 2013, Besada received a grant from St. Angelo Museum and has shown his work in various places. In 2018, he created a new style of abstract sculpture called Obeliskism which uses geometry of obelisk shapes to create art. His artwork is collected by many art collectors in Egypt, Europe, and North America. He is a member of the National Sculpture Society.