The Franco-Moroccan artist Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivel unveils his latest research at the “House of Beau” gallery in Rabat, in which he has developed a unique technique, through a process of in-depth experimentation.
The “House of Beau” gallery, based in Rabat, inaugurates its artistic residency program and welcomes in preview the Franco-Moroccan artist Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivel. After six weeks of residency in the gallery’s workshops, Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivel reveals his latest artistic research through the exhibition “The days are lengthening”. “This exhibition offers the opportunity to push the boundaries of perception and artistic representation. Beyond aesthetic appreciation, we want it to exalt our imagination. It is an invitation to explore beyond the conventional boundaries of art, to seize the wealth of creative possibilities available to us,” declares Othmane Benlamine, founder of the House of Beau gallery.
Indeed, “The days are lengthening” presents a series of monochrome drawings made with oil-based ink on coated paper. A unique technique, developed by the artist through a process of in-depth experimentation, allows him to obtain deep, thick blacks, slightly in relief, which reflect light in a way reminiscent of the glow of screens. A process that blurs the boundaries between 2D and 3D, thus offering a new dimension to graphic art. “This question of the representation of volume and depth on the screen fascinates me, and I try to thwart it, to rework it in my drawings,” explains the artist on this subject.
It must be said that Kamil develops a distinctive visual language, inspired by vector writing, the patterns of comics and textiles, as well as by the thinking of Jean Arp, according to which in abstraction, black and white belong typography and linear design. His compositions oscillate between the random and the programmed, mixing geometric patterns from the frames with lines created by hand. They thus create an ambiguity between digital drawing, printing and manual tracing. “When you look at my drawings, you wonder if they were printed or traced by hand. The slight reliefs and reflections that I obtain create an oscillating space between the screen and the paper,” he adds. A multidisciplinary artist, Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivel also ventures into the practice of sculpture.
In his exhibition “The days are getting longer”, the artist also presents a series of sculptures made up of shapes cut out of flat metal plates and welded to a supporting structure in volume. Entitled “Oiseau Piment”, these sculptures incorporate an almost comical aspect: on the border between figuration and abstraction, they sometimes evoke familiar forms or generate associations of grotesque images. Like his drawings, Kamil’s sculptures are inspired by abstract comics and writing systems in general, ranging from cuneiform writing to hieroglyphics, including Mayan writing.
About the artist
Course Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivel, born in 1992, is a Franco-Moroccan artist based in Paris. In his artistic practice, Kamil skillfully blends digital and manual techniques, exploring the complex relationship between surface and depth. Inspired by graphic frames and abstract comics, particularly attracted by the works of Yuichi Yokoyama, he navigates the field of abstraction using a monochromatic palette inspired by typography. His work thrives on experimentation, creating custom tracing tools and ink mixtures to achieve unique textures and visual effects. Employing various creative processes, he blurs the boundaries between the manual and the digital, between controlled and random hand gestures to design new formal environments.
