a painting for the old master Moroccan Farid Belkahia | Moroccan 1934-2014

Born on November 15, 1934, in Marrakech, Morocco, into a Francophone, culturally engaged family. Through his father’s connections, young Farid met prominent artists like Nicolas de Staël and Polish painter Olek Teslar, fueling his early artistic interests. By age 15, he was producing Expressionist-style oil portraits, and in 1953, he held his first exhibition in Marrakech .

🎓 Western Training & Return to Morocco (1954–1962)

Belkahia left for Paris in 1954, studying at the École des Beaux-Arts until 1959, then pursued scenography studies at the Prague Theatre Institute until 1962. These years enriched his visual vocabulary and theatrical sensibility, culminating in a bold return to Morocco in 1962.

🏛️ Reforming Art Education: The Casablanca School (1962–1974)

Appointed Director of the École des Beaux-Arts, Casablanca (1962–1974), Belkahia spearheaded the Casablanca School modernist movement alongside Mohamed Melehi and Mohamed Chabâa. He championed a revolutionary pedagogy: free from colonial constraints, students worked with local crafts, traditional materials, and indigenous techniques to liberate Moroccan art .

🛠️ Materials, Myth, and Modernity (1960s–1980s)

Belkahia abandoned canvas for hammered copper bas-reliefs (early 1960s) and later embraced leather dyed with natural pigments—henna, pomegranate, saffron—mounted on shaped wooden panels . His work features Tifinagh symbols, Amazigh motifs, tattoo designs, geometric shapes, hands, and organic forms—fusing Berber heritage and Moroccan craft into modernist abstraction .

🎨 Major Works & Exhibitions

Key pieces include:

“Patchwork Culturel” (1979): Henna on leather, combining local memory and symbolism.
“The Hand” (1980s): A recurring motif exploring humanity and ritual .
“Nuit étoilée” (1994): Henna and cobalt on vellum, exhibited by Christie’s .

He participated in landmark exhibitions: Paris Biennale (1961), Magiciens de la Terre (1989), Africa Remix (2005), and Présence Plastique (Marrakech, 1969), and his work has appeared in global venues—from Pompidou, Tate St Ives, Sharjah, MACAAL, to Mathaf .

🏆 Legacy & Cultural Influence

Belkahia is regarded as a foundational figure in post-colonial Moroccan art, bridging tradition and modernity . He defended cultural authenticity since the student days, claiming, “all renewal and modernity come from tradition”. His tenure at Casablanca’s École influenced generations, and his legacy lives on through the Fondation Farid Belkahia (est. 2015), which preserves his archive and nurtures emerging Moroccan artists .