Britt Boutros-Ghali | Alchemy

BOUTROS-GHALI «Alchemy» BRITT

Britt Boutros-Ghali, a distinguished painter following in the tradition of the Abstract Expressionist and Color Field pioneers such as Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler, brings to her practice the authority of a long and distinguished career, during which she has cultivated a highly individual mode of abstraction grounded in consistency, rigor, and a sustained dedication to her own language of form, color and materials.

Britt was born in 1937 in Svolvær, in northern Norway, where the intense saturation of summer light stands in stark contrast to the profound darkness of winter. She grew up amid the harsh climate and the formidable pressures of the Second World War. This early emotional and environmental landscape would later inform the vitality, chromatic intensity, and expressive force that define her work.

Britt has spent the past five decades living and working in Egypt, where she has become an integral presence within the country’s artistic community. Her work — marked by her vibrant large-scale, and energetic compositions — draws subtle nourishment from Egypt’s layered visual culture, light, and landscape. When describing her work, she refers to herself as an action painter, her canvases embody both immediacy and intention, balancing spontaneity with a deeply internalized discipline.

The physicality of her practice is central to its impact. Britt’s seasoned command of material allows structure and gesture to coexist: while each composition is grounded in a methodical underlying framework, the surface unfolds with expressive freedom. The outcome is neither accidental nor predetermined, but the result of a sustained dialogue between artist, her internal world, and medium, in which the inherent nature of the materials is allowed to reveal its own complexities.

Since her first exhibition in Paris in 1962, Britt has exhibited internationally and her work is held in numerous public and private collections. In 1996, she was awarded the Order of St. Olav by King Harald V of Norway in recognition of her cultural and artistic contributions — one of Norway’s highest honors. In 2023, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in the Arts from the Egyptian government, a significant acknowledgment from her adopted homeland that further affirmed the enduring relevance and rising recognition of her work.

Cover image:

Untitled, 2024 (No 07-024 D) Acrylic on board 40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 in.)

BRITT BOUTROS-GHALI

«Alchemy»

Pascal Robert Gallery is pleased to introduce «Alchemy», Britt Boutros-Ghali’s first solo exhibition in Zurich. This exhibition showcases a body of work driven by the principle of transformation, where memory, processes, and emotions merge and dissolve, transforming through color and gesture into evocative, material landscapes. Anchored in abstraction and guided by intuition, Boutros-Ghali’s paintings function as vessels of refinement, translating inner states into luminous, expressive visual forms.

Her practice is founded on an ongoing dialectic between spontaneous impulse and disciplined craftsmanship. Texture and color are layered and poured, creating luminous surfaces that feel both deliberate and organic. Pigments pool, settle, and breathe across the canvas, forming compositions that quietly balance light, movement, and the viewer’s attention.

The title «Alchemy» aptly captures the core of her approach: viewing transformation as a process of refined elegance. These works serve as gentle vessels, distilling experience into radiant clarity and inviting a meditative stillness. To encounter her art is to enter a sacred pause, where perception gradually slows, and the act of viewing transforms into a dialogue with the subtle nuances of vitality, color, and mood. In this liminal space, painting transcends mere surface, becoming a delicate whisper that guides the viewer toward inner resonance and quiet insight.

In this context, it is inspiring to think of Boutros-Ghali as a pioneering female artist who has been living in Egypt for over five decades, deeply rooted in its rich cultural landscape. Her unwavering dedication and transformative approaches echo resilience and a relentless pursuit of authentic, craft-driven, and profound self-expression, traits that define her œuvre. Her paintings become vessels for personal reflection and silent revolution.

In an era characterized by acceleration and unrest, Boutros-Ghali’s work provides a purposeful counterbalance. Her paintings suggest that beauty, calm, and healing are not naive ideals, but conscious aesthetic and emotional positions, stately expressions laden with meaning.

Exhibited at Pascal Robert in Zurich, «Alchemy» resonates within a city that values reflection, balance, and precision, qualities mirrored in her work. In «Alchemy», Britt Boutros-Ghali affirms her already established legacy, reminding us that abstraction remains vital, not only for gestural expression but for its enduring power to move, restore equilibrium and luminance, and speak softly yet profoundly to the human spirit and the translation of emotion onto the canvas.

Rämistrassse 5, 8001 Zürich

Exhibition Dates: February 6 - March 28, 2026

T. +41 76 433 1077

E. pascal@pascalrobert.net

“Britt’s paintings unfold as visual dreamscapes, where each element reveals small surprises and lush, intricate details that invite a continued journey for the eyes. They are a visual feast—layer upon layer of paint builds extraordinary depth, elevating the experience and drawing the viewer back again and again. Each work becomes a landscape without end, one that continues to engage and reward its audience for years to come.”

—Pascal Robert

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In an intimate conversation between two women whose lives are intertwined by art, Britt, the renowned artist celebrated for her evocative use of color and form, speaks with her daughter, Michelle Edelman of TrafficArts, who has dedicated her career to supporting and promoting artists and creative talent. Today, they come together not just as family, but as collaborators in the art world, ready to delve into their shared passion, the inspirations behind Britt’s work, and the unique dynamic that bridges their professional and personal lives. A dialogue rich with insight, reflection, and the deep connection that only a mother and daughter can share.

Michelle: I’m so excited to have this conversation with you. I’m thinking of the questions that people often want to ask and know about you and your work. It always starts with, what inspires you? Britt: I think it’s the search for the perfect painting. As an action painter I work energetically, and once the painting is finished, I think, wow, this is beautiful. But then I’ll come back to it later and think how I can I do it better. This is what keeps driving me. It is an energy or maybe an affliction to keep reaching further. I inspire myself.

ME: What is the favorite part of your day?

BBG: At night in my studio when it’s absolutely quiet and everything is still.

ME: What do you avoid?

BBG: I avoid conflict.

ME: What can you not live without?

BBG: So many things. Being around people who make me feel loved and comfortable. Friends and Family.

ME: When was your first creative moment?

BBG: When I was about 9 or 10 years old in school, I did a caricature of my teacher. And then all my friends wanted me to do theirs. I was always drawing and sketching my friends.

And then much later, when I came to Paris, I was 18, and all my friends who were South American artists were abstract painters and it opened up my thoughts and made me feel free.

ME: What is your creative process?

BBG: I feel the discipline of working is the most important thing for me. I’m in the studio everyday no matter how I feel. I’ll wake up in the morning, I’ll swim, and then I’ll go to my studio. I’ll have lunch at 3 pm, then a siesta until 6 pm, and then I’ll paint from 6-10 pm.

For my painting process I always start by putting all my colors around me. Then I just let things happen. I really don’t have any idea of what I’m going to do. Everything to start feels a little chaotic and then I slowly make order from the chaos and give it structure. Sometimes I’m not even aware of what I’m doing.

Starting with an empty canvas, I kind of blank out all my thoughts, all the problems, and everything that occupies my mind. And then I just take the first color that is closest to me and it just goes from there. It’s like I almost go into a trance in my work. This happens more and more as I get older. That’s why I can do a huge painting in a day.

ME: Does spirituality tie into your creative process: BBG: I do feel like I’m being guided. For me the work must feel good energetically and have a soul—then knowing that it will eventually live in peoples’ homes and will pass on that energy to them

ME: Who has inspired you, both in work and beyond?

BBG: There are so many! I’m very inspired by Gustav Klimt. I love the decadence and embellishment he used in his work, and how he is unappologetic with regards to being decorative. In contemporary art even the word decorative is frowned upon—but I love that. What I see around me every day inspires me.

ME: In one word, what brought you to Egypt?

BBG: Love

ME: How has living in Egypt (for so many years) influenced your work and your overall vision?

BBG: It has given me the feeling of safety and being loved. That is for me so important.

ME: Being originally from Northern Norway, how does your childhood and early experiences play into your artistic journey?

BBG: The drama in my abstract work comes from the North. Storms. I was always longing to get out. I never felt I belonged there.

ME: What is your greatest indulgence?

BBG: My glass of wine! Every Friday I go to Delice in Alexandria for cake—it’s so delicious, it’s obnoxious.

ME: If you could invite anyone in the world and in history to join you for dinner, who would you invite?

BBG: Beethoven (to see what was behind all this) and Knut Hamsun.

ME: Do you believe in magical thinking?

BBG: Definitely. I think that what you put your mind to, what you dream can come true if you let it. I found that very often the thing that you really want to happen and you kind of say it out loud, put it into the universe, then it usually comes to you. I really believe that we create ourselves from our thoughts. So, you have to be very careful what you think about!

ME: What do you wish for people to experience from your work?

BBG: I want people to feel a sense of beauty, and also peace with my work, and then to be excited and moved, because they constantly find new things in it. I also want people to feel transported from the outside world, where things are complicated, stressful, with war and suffering. I don’t want to paint suffering, there’s too much of that in the world already. I want the paintings to be healing.

ME: Do you have an overriding philosophy that guides you and drives you?

BBG: Yes, I believe that what you give out comes back to you. I think we have to be very very generous, kind, and humble, and to always be there to help if you can. I think that’s so important, especially in our times now.

ME: What is on your bucket list?

BBG: It’s interesting, I feel I have so little time, so I don’t want to move from my studio. I just want to work. Which is what I do about ten hours a day. I don’t know, I just feel so so blessed every day. I’m so thankful.

“I aim for my art to bring healing, beauty, and serenity, opening space for discovery and transformation from chaos into harmony.”

—Britt BG

Select Solo Exhibitions

2025 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Picasso Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

Britt Boutros-Ghali | Varvara Roza Galleries | London, UK

Britt Boutros-Ghali | Galerie Son | Berlin, Germany

2024 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Solos in Parallel | TAM Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

2023 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Hawanem (Women of My World) | Townhouse | Cairo, Egypt

Britt Boutros-Ghali | Kunstner Hus | Sortland, Norway

2020 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Reflections | Picasso Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

2019 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Transformation | SAMAH Art Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

2017 Britt Boutros-Ghali | 40 Years in Egypt | TAM Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

2015 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Women of My World | Picasso Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

Britt Boutros-Ghali | Rogoland Museum of Fine Arts | Bergen, Norway

2014 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Naila Art Gallery | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2012 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Hardanger & Voss Museum | Hardanger, Norway

2011 Britt Boutros-Ghali | TRAFFICARTS | New York, USA

2008 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Musée d’Art Contemporain | Marrakesh, Morocco

2007 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Slovak National Museum | Bratislava, Slovakia

1999 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Palais de l’UNESCO | Beirut, Lebanon

1995 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Galerie Pierre Cardin – Espace Vega | Paris, France

Britt Boutros-Ghali | Kunst og Industrie Museum | Trondheim, Norway

1989 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Galerie Four Seasons Gallery | Cairo, Egypt

1985 Britt Boutros-Ghali | Italian Cultural Center | Cairo, Egypt

1975 BRITT | Galerie d’Arc | Geneva, Switzerland

1974 BRITT | Parlamentarische Gesellschaft | Bonn, Germany

1973 BRITT | Galerie Schloss Ramseck | Stuttgart, Germany

1971 BRITT | Det Blå Galerie | Oslo, Norway

1969 BRITT | En Los Salones del Athenee | Majorca, Spain

BRITT | Refugi d’Art | Barcelona, Spain

1966 BRITT | Galerie Fiskerness Bank | Tromso, Norway

1962 BRITT | Galerie de Université | Paris, France

Select Group Exhibitions

2025 Grand Egyptian Museum | Opening Exhibition | Egypt

2024 Forever Is Composed of Nows | Janet Rady Fine Art | London, UK

2013 Caravan Festival of the Arts | Cairo, Egypt

1995 Palais des Festivals | Cannes, France

1967 Dimarco Gallery | Edinburgh, UK

Select Private Collections

Queen Sonja of Norway

Valgerd Svarstad Haugland-former Minister of Culture and Equality, Norway

Sultana al-Qu’aiti, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abdel Nasser Family of Egypt

Queen Noor of Jordan

Robert Summer Collection

Keith Richards and Patti Hansen

Michelle and Asher Edelman