Saturday, June 18, 2011

Abdelkrim Ouazzani

We came across an exhibition of work by Abdelkrim Ouazzani. It was set up in the battlements portico entrance to the Kasbah of Oudaias in Rabat, Morocco. These unused public spaces seem to be the venues for exhibitions.
I loved this work - fresh, bold, elegantly simple. I was excited to see some wonderful art work at last.
This is the entrance archway to the portico.
This is what I found on the internet about this artist [translated from French].

"This contemporary Moroccan artist, designer, painter and sculptor, lives and works in Tetouan, near the straits of Gibralta, where he is director of the National Institute of Fine Arts. His work is 'beyond the routine' classifications, and embodies the spirit of childhood. Ouazzani has always been faithful to a world view based on his imagination, fun and play, and the sweet harmony of shapes and colors. The wheel and circle are recurrent themes in his works, creating a simple visual vocabulary which is reproduced, combined, and structured.  His flickering human figures are fragile and full of poetry".

I believe there is somewhat of a Miro influence in this work. The works of the great artists of Spain and France are just across the Mediterranean - a feast for the soul for any present day artist.
These are a couple of Miro's works which I saw in Barcelona a couple of weeks later.
 
 

NEW FOLLOWERS:
I see that I have a few new followers - welcome one and all. I will endeavour to say 'hi' to you all as soon as possible, but I am finding that computer time is limited at the moment - I am preparing for another adventure - yes, already!!! I am off to Brisbane  [only 1 1/2 hours away] to do a week long Keith lo Bue workshop - yeah - this will be my second workshop with Keith - fabulous fun. Check out his web site - it's to die for :)


4 comments:

  1. Did you manage to acquire a small sample of Oazzani's work? I can see the Miro influence... lovely stuff. Checked out Keith Lo Blue... How come I've never heard of him? Amazing work!!!!

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  2. Hi Jo - if only.....
    Yes, Keith is a treasure in his own right xoxoxo

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  3. What a lovely bit of serendipity - and interesting how well the modern works within the ancient. I like a couple of those prints! Have a fun week.

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