Ahmed Al Cherkaoui- Entre Modernite Et Enracinement/ أحمد الشرقاوي- بين الحداثة و التجدر / Toni Maraini (Author), Brahim Alaoui (Editor)

Exhibition at Musee Mohammad VI Arte Moderne & Contemporain, Rabat from 27 March- 27 August 2018. ---------------- Ahmed Cherkaoui has developed a personal language inspired by the vocabulary of the tattooed, engraved, woven Berber sign, reproduced through pictorial and graphic works. He conducted his artistic experiments between Paris and Morocco around the traced sign and the painted gesture. Major or less known works by the public, from private or institutional, Moroccan or international collections, Cherkaoui's work is presented through a chronological journey highlighting the development of his pictorial research, in this catalog and summary book which includes thematic essays, major historical texts, unpublished testimonies as well as documentation on the artist's journey. Ahmed Cherkaoui is considered, alongside Jilali Gharbaoui, as the precursor of modern painting in Morocco, of which he embodies one of the most important moments in history. Born in October 1934 in Boujad (Chaouia region), it was in Casablanca that Ahmed Cherkaoui continued his studies and then learned the profession of calligrapher from a renowned master. In 1956, he joined the École des Métiers d'Art in Paris, graphic arts section, where he devoted himself to the study of lettering, decoration and poster techniques. These years are also those of a secret and solitary experimentation with painting. In 1960, he joined the Beaux-arts de Paris in the Aujame studio and quickly made a place for himself within the School group. Passing through Warsaw in 1961 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Cherkaoui measured himself against the graphic research of the Polish avant-garde and realized the importance of the sign in his creation. In 1966-1967, his work is characterized by the union between his two sensibilities: the traced sign and the formal sign. In 1967, Cherkaoui considered returning to Morocco. He died the same year in August, leaving behind him a production of nearly 200 works.

Yasmina Naji, Brahim ben Hossain Alaoui, Fatima-Zahra Lakrissa.

Arabic; French