Mohamed Melehi is regarded as a major figure in post-colonial Moroccan art. A multi-faceted artist, painter, photographer, muralist, graphic and urban designer, art teacher, and cultural activist, he taught at the Casablanca Art School during its most radical period, between 1964–69. In Melehi’s art we can sense the spirit of aesthetic revolution and the exaltation of post-independence Morocco through his developments in the 1960s: from experiments with abstraction in Rome and New York to the full maturation of his signature motif—the wave—in the 1970s. As shown in the work Composition (1970), his colourful and patternmaking process resonates with his outdoor murals, especially those made for the Cultural Moussem of Asilah Festival from 1978 onward, for which Melehi was a co-organizer. Melehi’s art resists the East/West divide that developed during the Cold War period. His wavy frescoes take us on a cosmopolitan journey, joining together the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is within a profound relationship with local art and craft—Amazigh jewelry and rugs, namely—where these combinations of patterns between straight and wavy lines, abstract and figurative forms, feminine and masculine symbols can be found, documented by Melehi’s photographic works. As a graphic designer and photographer, Melehi helped shape the visual culture of political struggles throughout the Maghreb and Pan-Arab artistic networks. His graphic design and publishing work for the Casablanca group and avantgarde journals such as Souffles (1966–69) and Integral (1971–78) provide the best examples.

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION:

Untitled (2001), acrylic on panel, 70.5 × 60.5 cm; Composition (1970/2026), wallpaper, reproduction, 475 × 397 cm (original 120 × 100 cm). All courtesy of Collection Fondation Alliances—MACAAL & the artist’s estate