Yousef multi-talented artist and sculptor Paintings
Thought, fantasies expressed through sketching
Dr Yousef Almulaefi is a young talented artist erudite in graphics, sculpture, installation art and comics with an impressive background of awards to his credit. Born in Kuwait in 1979 he began expressing his thought and fantasies sketching whatever came to his mind as soon as he could hold a pencil in his hand or creating little figurines in clay.
His artistic gift was quickly realized by his older sister, Noorah and his mother who encouraged him to paint, sketch and sculpture from when he was four years old. When schooling began his teachers took an active interest in his artistic gift, spurring him to take part in extracurriculum art activities and exhibitions. The combination of home and school encouragement spurred his rapid development into an original artist.
As he grew older Yousef became interested in various fields of art practicing painting, graphics, installation art, cartoons and sculpture. Though he disliked math, in school he was doing well in all subjects, especially in social science and science in general.
During the Iraqi invasion Yousef was eleven years old; what was going on around him affected him deeply, prompting him to sketch his impressions in caricature of what he thought of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, but he had to hide his works for fear of a sudden Iraqi inspection to his home.
Incidentally his sister, Noorah had become involved in the resistance with her inflammatory poems, which were printed by a young man and circulated around in pamphlets. His capture by the Iraqi Mukhabarat made Noorah realize the danger she and her family were in, so, as soon she was informed of his capture, she and her family escaped into Saudi Arabia to live with some relatives till after the liberation they could return home.
The whole incident of the invasion and his experience of leaving his country as a refugee were translated into paintings, after the liberation of Kuwait on the 26th of February 1991, at his return home Yousef took part in exhibitions with those paintings. Incidentally he had been taking part in exhibitions and biennale held in his country or abroad since 1988, when he was still a student ; some of his works were also published in children’s magazines.
At graduation from high school in 1995, on entering University, Yousef applied for different majors, chosen to study art he passed the test with flying colors. In 1999 he got his Bachelor degree in Art Education and from the year 2000 he started his teaching career at the elementary level, then at the intermediate schools and finally at the higher school. He then took a scholarship to expand his art education at the Beaux-Art Institute in Paris, where he took courses in painting, he then went to the Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt for his Master and PhD degrees; there he presented a thesis based on a research on modern sculptures in Kuwait, another thesis was on the historical archaeological finding in the island of Failaka consisting of statues and seals dating to the Dilmon civilization and to the Greek period in the island.
At his return with a Master and PhD in Art Education Dr Yousef continued his teaching career at the Essential Art Education Faculty, while still taking part in scores of exhibitions in Kuwait and abroad from which he was awarded many prizes, shields and citations.
Incidentally he got his first prize in 1988; after the liberation he got a second prize in 1992 for his caricatures. Subsequently he was awarded the Essential Education Faculty prize in 1998, the Golden Pearl prize at the Arab Gulf Level in 2000; a medal at the Saudi color exhibition in 2001, the Cairo Dr Kamal Obaid’s prize for sculpture in 2004 and another in 2009.
In 2005 Dr Yousef received the Arab World competition prize and was nominated Best Arab artist at the Kuwait innovators festival held under the auspices of Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. In the festival of 2006 he got another prize and in 2009 he was awarded with the Golden Pyramid Prize.
That year he got a prize in the second Spring exhibition for formative arts as well as the Environment exhibition prize at Masqat (Oman) held at the Arab Gulf level, finally in the Qurain cultural festivals of 2010-2011 he got the Isa Sager Creative award.
Such an impressive array of awards to his credit testifies to the meteoritic success of this young artist, who though he started off with painting and caricatures he found his stronger artistic inclination in sculpture. Among his works is a three meters high Memorial statue of the late Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, he made for his daughter Sheikha Anuar Al Jaber Al Sabah.
Focused
Besides joining exhibitions Dr Yousef made two personals for sculptures in bronze, both focused on one subject: in his first held in 2012 he took flight into the spiritual realm with his “Statues in the Air”, in the second he focused on “Woman” under various aspects.
“Statues in the Air” reveal his optimism in the future of humanity when it will be free at last from centuries old of superstitions that have been halting its spiritual development. The whole exhibition betrays the strong yearning of the artist for intellectual freedom, for the liberation of the human spirit, which though connected to its earthy environment, is forever yearning to transcend itself. As such his works are highly inspiring, they are a refreshing approach to our thinking and inspiration, they are reminders that we are spirits in a body, free, but responsible of the choice we make. Our choice and action not only will affect us it affects the whole, because we are all connected, all co-creators in the flux of a cosmic phenomenon.
The secret of the artist’s success is the genuine expression of his imagination. Imagination is the hard currency of human development and artists like scientists have the duty to use it in furthering human development.
Though in his work Dr Yousef Almulaefi is distinctively optimistic, he believes indigenous art could only flourish with a proper approach in training young talents not merely to become art teachers, but to become artists. He sees a wealth of budding young talents in his country but the number is meaningless if its lacks in quality.
For young artists to develop a perspective in the true purpose of art Dr Yousef sees the need of a proper art college in Kuwait in which to be trained in various techniques for applied art and aesthetics.
As a lecturer he has been taking part in symposiums in Kuwait and abroad: in Oman, in Germany and in Syria; in Egypt he lectured at Alexandria, at Marsa Alam, at Aswan and at Sharm Alsheikh.