51 1/8 x 47 1/4 in
Arabian Moucharabieh is a solo exhibition of new paintings by Moroccan artist Mohamed Melehi (b.1936), presented as part of the inaugural programme of exhibitions taking place at Cromwell Place London.
Melehi is regarded as a major figure for postcolonial Moroccan art and of modernism in the Global South. Professor of painting, sculpture and photography at the Casablanca School of Fine Arts from 1964 to 1969, Melehi contributed to the cultural scene of Post-Independence Morocco on a grand scale: from public murals, to teaching, to publishing, to architecture. Melehi’s work forms a dialogue between Moroccan-Berber traditional and popular craft and the Hard Edge painters of the 1960s. He is known for his jubilant palette, buoyant patterns and his multiple variations on the colourful, undulating lines of the wave that have become central to Melehi’s work.
For Arabian Moucharabieh, Melehi presents eight new paintings from his Moucharabieh series. This series is reminiscent of his bold graphic compositions from the early 1970s where he produced the now-familiar wave motif in block colours. The motif of the wave is, for Melehi, all about movement and change, their dynamic compositions continuously evolving. At times we see in them the curves of a human figure or outlines made by water, at others magnetic signs or electronic signals, and when vertical they become a flame. In the Moucharabieh series, Melehi strips away the waves to their bare essentials - they become all-over diagonal compositions, giving emphasis to the curved line, hyper-graphism and a clear chromatic palette.
