The Al Mada Foundation in collaboration with Art First Galerie organizes “Fatna Gbouri: between tradition and modernity”. This exhibition scheduled until March 31, 2025 at the Villa des arts in Casablanca highlights all the richness of Moroccan heritage through scenes of life celebrating authentic Morocco and its modernity.
After being exhibited in 2023-2024 at the Musée des confluences-Dar El Bacha Marrakech, the major works of the artist Fatna Gbouri (Private collection: 1982-1990), will be presented for the first time to the public from January 21 to March 31 2025 at the Villa des arts in Casablanca. They gathered around the exhibition entitled “Fatna Gbouri: between tradition and modernity”.
Organized by the Al Mada Foundation in collaboration with Art First Galerie, this exhibition highlights the richness of Moroccan heritage through scenes of life celebrating authentic Morocco and its modernity. It must be said that Fatna Gbouri was born in 1924 in Tnine Gharbia (Safi province), she began painting in 1982 at the age of 58. Like Chaibia Talal, Fatna Gbouri is one of the female pioneers of Moroccan painting.
This exhibition highlights the period stretching from 1982 to 1990 during which Fatna Gbouri became aware of her talent and became part of the singular art movement, also called Postbrut, or self-taught art. Olivier Rachet, author of the introductory text of the exhibition catalogue, specifies: “His line is spontaneous, close in this way to art brut, and seems to have the vocation of sharing the wonder of all the senses”. And added: “Fatna Gbouri draws your contemplative gaze into a traditional universe detached from the places, leaving room only for the scenes that she has carefully chosen, including rural scenes of weddings, births, celebrations and much more again, that she was able to observe and experience in her daily life. The artist takes care to surprise with a choice of eclectic and lively colors without distorting the beauty of the immortalized moments.
The works from the period 1982 to 1990 represent modernity, tradition and authenticity at the same time. Rachet continues: “The colors sing on the canvas, and the predilection for primary tones placed in flat colors composes a graphic score of which we also perceive the echoes”. Selma Naguib, curator of the exhibition, notes that “the work of Fatna Gbouri, of the order of the timeless, transcends generations. She is a pioneering woman artist who has succeeded in marking her time through her intelligence and her spirit which is both authentic and avant-garde.”
Morocco
