154 Art Fair Marrakech 2026: African Art Fair

We are pleased to present Poetic Gestures from North Africa, a curated selection at Booth LM7 featuring seven iconic artists whose practices have fundamentally shaped and enriched the Maghreb’s artistic landscape.

This exhibition fosters a visual and conceptual dialogue between modernity, heritage, and the enduring power of poetic expression, bringing together the works of Farid Belkahia, Hassan El Glaoui, Abderrazak Sahli, Baya, Najia Mehadji, Brahim Dhahak,and Gouider Triki.

The presentation offers a journey through the aesthetic evolution of the Maghreb and its diasporas. Across varied mediums and eras, these artists have redefined identity, spirituality, and abstraction on their own terms.

Farid Belkahia’s work, rooted in natural materials and traditional craftsmanship, invites reflection on the post-colonial body and spirit, seamlessly merging modernist abstraction with ancestral symbolism.

Hassan El Glaoui, one of Morocco’s most celebrated painters, evokes strength and grace through his iconic equestrian scenes that intertwine memory, tradition, and the fluidity of movement.

Najia Mehadji employs fluid, calligraphic gestures to connect Sufi spirituality with contemporary abstraction, offering a practice that is both feminist and universalist in scope.

Baya, the Algerian prodigy, defied academic expectations with a unique iconography of womanhood, folklore, and dreamscapes, rendered in a deeply personal and vibrant visual language.

Abderrazak Sahli, the rebellious Tunisian master of supports and surfaces, creates a synthesis of mystical themes and African culture, always expressed through a bold mastery of shape and colour.

Brahim Dhahak, a remarkable master of engraving, is celebrated for his technical precision and poetic woodcut series such as The Hilalian Epic, which capture the soul of Tunisian life and the natural world.

Gouider Triki explores the depths of Tunisian heritage by blending intricate, symbolic engravings with a vivid, dreamlike palette, bridging the gap between ancient North African myths and contemporary abstraction.

Through this intergenerational and intercultural constellation, the booth seeks to highlight a shared sensibility: a celebration of rooted aesthetics, sensual forms, and the transformative energies inherent in North African art.