Mohamed Melehi exhibition to open six months after postponement

Mohamed Melehi, photographed by H. Chergui in 2017. Image courtesy of Alserkal Avenue.

An exhibition dedicated to the career of Mohamed Melehi and the radical Casablanca Art School will open on 9 September in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue, following its postponement from March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New Waves, which is curated by Zamân Books & Curating, retraces Melehi’s career chronologically, from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Melehi is widely regarded as a major figure of postcolonial Moroccan art and of transnational modernism. Previously unseen works and archives present Melehi as a painter, photographer, muralist, graphic and urban designer, art teacher, and cultural activist.

His work is immediately recognisable for its use of bright colour, geometric form and graphic qualities. It feels refreshing and modern, despite its age and is also extremely engaging and accessible. Melehi was known for wanting to liberate art from the confines of galleries and to bring painting into the public realm, a value that is clear from the style and content of his painting.

In light of this, part of the retrospective exhibition, presented by Alserkal Arts Foundation, will be shown in the open air space in Alserkal Avenue - The Yard, alongside a mural completed by Zayed University students. This is the third iteration of this exhibition, which was originally produced by The Mosaic Rooms in London and shown there from April 12 – June 22, 2019. It was also on display in the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech from September 21, 2019 – January 5, 2020. This presentation has been expanded to include a recently archived collection of Melehi’s documentary photography—over 30 years of artistic travel and visual activism journeys—as well as highlights from the golden age of the Asilah festival. The Festival, co-founded by Melehi in 1978, gathered avant-garde artists from Africa, Asia, and Arab countries.

Untitled, 1970-1971, cellulose paint on wood. Private collection. Image courtesy of Alserkal Avenue.

The exhibition will reveal Melehi’s key role in the development of art pedagogy and experimental practices in Morocco, as well as his significant work in graphic design and mural painting, which has contributed heavily in shaping the aesthetics of significant artistic networks and political causes throughout the Maghreb and the Pan-Arab alliances.

The travelling exhibition and the Dubai iteration marks the first time that the full period of Melehi’s works has been shown on a global stage with a researched display. The exhibition is open to all, with visitors able to book their visit in line with social- distancing guidelines.

For a preview of the exhibition, and interviews with the curator and artist, visit alserkal.online.