Honouring artist Farid Belkahia, the Es Saadi pays tribute to this great Moroccan figure of contemporary art with a major exhibition.
This retrospective exhibition highlights Farid Belkahia’s role in Moroccan art and his impact worldwide. From expressionism to easel abandonment, from his works on copper to those on skin and paper, the exhibition covers a broad spectrum of the artist’s career.
As an evidence, this unique exhibition testifies to a mutual friendship and fascination that continues to link an artist inhabited by the certainty of his approach, to the Bauchet-Bouhlal family.
Portrait of Farid Belkahia by Leila Alaoui, 2009 – © Fondation Leila Alaoui
Elisabeth Bauchet-Bouhlal declared: “Some personalities are so strong that they leave an indelible mark on you. Farid Belkahia is a shining example of this, and today I’d like to pay him a special tribute. He was irresistible, driven by a strong ambition to anchor the Moroccan art scene to the global art scene, while preserving and enhancing the singularities of Moroccan culture: tradition represented the future, and openness to an infinite field of artistic possibilities. At the beginning of the 1970s, this was a surprising statement, as art lovers of the time were still relatively unaware of artistic ideologies. Today, enriched by so many exceptional memories, I felt it necessary to pay him a personal tribute.
Through works, often emblematic, chosen over the course of our lives, beyond international recognition, I am happy to share the vision of a man who was more than an artist to my husband and me. We followed him, admired him, and then he became a friend with whom we shared the values of authenticity to which we have always been attached. This exhibition is a personal journey through the uncompromising life of a modern artist who succeeded in making Moroccan art known and appreciated in the world’s finest museums and most prestigious collections“.
This exhibition is produced in collaboration with Hicham Daoudi: “Supporting the production of this exhibition dedicated to Farid Belkahia in Marrakech, at the home of one of his great friends, has the flavor of a promise kept that I made to myself when I last saw him in August 2014.“
Exhibition open to the public, 7 days a week, on the second floor of the Palace Es Saadi.
From October 12, 2023.
We look forward to welcoming you to Es Saadi Resort Marrakech,
where every shared moment is a new story to be told.
