![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/36XY4MOSZUBTYF73GGGZ5YNVFM.jpg?smart=true&auth=28042f25528d32c0f6861d5893fed793f0f754f8128668256b1f434545cf2c85&width=400&height=225)
The show extends to a mural replica painted by Zayed University students outside of the venue. Seeing Things
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VUGOJTVS7GURS5N7EKRXDOTOFM.jpg?smart=true&auth=263a2fba71ce2d3e761ca5e330b9285ffd862b8d6d235662c293ad15421df868&width=400&height=225)
A visitor at New Waves: Mohamed Melehi at the Casablanca Art School Archives in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue. Angelo Jandri
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IQTJGAUX3SSMCCYRHUIMII6224.jpg?smart=true&auth=8f47e76aed3e83a97c9161d81b8c0c0a2e31458a3679353f6a60fa1159a56a10&width=400&height=225)
A view of Melehi's diptych 'Solar Nostalgia'. Antonie Robertson / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MYPXO3KELNKIWBICNGDK4P4XLU.jpg?smart=true&auth=8b68d853d0512ace5b7e089d16043acaa1059819bf4875526a7d4a6aedbb2045&width=400&height=225)
The exhibition's second section looks at Melehi's development of the wave. Mustafa Aboubacker
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3FY2JC3PCZJMEGOFA4M2Y2YGVE.jpg?smart=true&auth=b059a5d327f39f4e10f7c8e70a2370c19b551d888fb40cdfaa24150206232d99&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi, 84, was one of Morocco’s most significant modernist figures. H. Chergui
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TRYWD6DUKSLVKEI4MSS4BNGIEE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c7b5c8f19dea6c3d9a117ef67b02c915f0cfe5aedf250e1f7fce6e6a4dde4257&width=400&height=225)
The wave is Melehi's most emblematic motif, evoking transmission signals, seas and horizons. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MKYBPQ72OLODSO4ZTPWY22YRJQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=31f42a8d3ace2e74183198639007b4af68af646b621efce8875db0a378283d82&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Sleeping Manhattan' 1962. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZUQGOLLZ3RARVS44AJCLEU2CPE.jpg?smart=true&auth=9a969c70f638d8fab6b98807103a34673955178c34b1fcd1a439c2b22e327009&width=400&height=225)
Melehi’s affinity with the masses is evident in his cellulose paintings, for which he used car paint as a way to incorporate materials familiar to the working classes. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Q5PT65YD654FKOEVWKDJL23RAA.jpg?smart=true&auth=c197fbcd426e63d63325c21a67b1eb128326b2602ccc70c0d6b90281ed4d18e9&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Flame', 1975. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PKSLJ2I5ES5RUMXALQIUCF7YNE.jpg?smart=true&auth=bd643c71252b4e886a3ad30bebab97bf08b3ada1c8fbef61cbcf9941ed55bb64&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Volcanic', 1975. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PMZFTXNT7C4E6SAGTC2VGZ3CCM.jpg?smart=true&auth=74151d453078373e3cf08205e3446e968466dc78e506d07b967f528b70ee1661&width=400&height=225)
The exhibition’s third section establishes Melehi’s practice within a larger movement – the rebirth of a national culture unmoored from its colonial past. Antonie Robertson / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SJYI5FAXDIT4U4UAV3TYZWEDUA.jpg?smart=true&auth=058eb29ac25231c06c7e48a0bbd50b57eb74abed0f03f84373096e43ea8a7221&width=400&height=225)
Fibulae, Berber jewellery, photographed by Mohamed Melehi. Melehi and the school encouraged students to draw from African and Amazigh (Berber) craft and decorative arts, such as textiles and jewellery, fusing it with geometric abstraction
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/DNSX2ZEULAN44A537QIRUBFBIQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=6d892d47ec4eca0e213b0b3ce05ca1dc814a941ce2c80236927e6da3c27f0df4&width=400&height=225)
View of a ceiling fresco by Melehi at Hotel Les Roses du Dades, Kelaa M’Gouna, Deep South, Morocco, 1971-1972. Faraoui and De Mazières Studio. Patrice de Mazières archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3SINJ5K2GBRUHCKCK3HMMVKNFY.jpg?smart=true&auth=14ba394a995b79d08b4be2dc8274def8bba386a25801eeed665eda7c83787325&width=400&height=225)
In this photo taken by Melehi, Ali Noury, student of the Casablanca Art School preparing the annual exhibition, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Arab League Park, Juin 1968. Chabaa family archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MUIJEBVPE5VY5TFAFVM6CYFLWM.jpg?smart=true&auth=213e43b55717dc9a80d688bd00b73470d9af21f600f28f38831be7feed3ab084&width=400&height=225)
Fresco by Mohammed Chabaa, Asilah Moussem, late 1970s. Safieddine-Melehi archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/36XY4MOSZUBTYF73GGGZ5YNVFM.jpg?smart=true&auth=28042f25528d32c0f6861d5893fed793f0f754f8128668256b1f434545cf2c85&width=400&height=225)
The show extends to a mural replica painted by Zayed University students outside of the venue. Seeing Things
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VUGOJTVS7GURS5N7EKRXDOTOFM.jpg?smart=true&auth=263a2fba71ce2d3e761ca5e330b9285ffd862b8d6d235662c293ad15421df868&width=400&height=225)
A visitor at New Waves: Mohamed Melehi at the Casablanca Art School Archives in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue. Angelo Jandri
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IQTJGAUX3SSMCCYRHUIMII6224.jpg?smart=true&auth=8f47e76aed3e83a97c9161d81b8c0c0a2e31458a3679353f6a60fa1159a56a10&width=400&height=225)
A view of Melehi's diptych 'Solar Nostalgia'. Antonie Robertson / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MYPXO3KELNKIWBICNGDK4P4XLU.jpg?smart=true&auth=8b68d853d0512ace5b7e089d16043acaa1059819bf4875526a7d4a6aedbb2045&width=400&height=225)
The exhibition's second section looks at Melehi's development of the wave. Mustafa Aboubacker
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3FY2JC3PCZJMEGOFA4M2Y2YGVE.jpg?smart=true&auth=b059a5d327f39f4e10f7c8e70a2370c19b551d888fb40cdfaa24150206232d99&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi, 84, was one of Morocco’s most significant modernist figures. H. Chergui
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TRYWD6DUKSLVKEI4MSS4BNGIEE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c7b5c8f19dea6c3d9a117ef67b02c915f0cfe5aedf250e1f7fce6e6a4dde4257&width=400&height=225)
The wave is Melehi's most emblematic motif, evoking transmission signals, seas and horizons. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MKYBPQ72OLODSO4ZTPWY22YRJQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=31f42a8d3ace2e74183198639007b4af68af646b621efce8875db0a378283d82&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Sleeping Manhattan' 1962. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZUQGOLLZ3RARVS44AJCLEU2CPE.jpg?smart=true&auth=9a969c70f638d8fab6b98807103a34673955178c34b1fcd1a439c2b22e327009&width=400&height=225)
Melehi’s affinity with the masses is evident in his cellulose paintings, for which he used car paint as a way to incorporate materials familiar to the working classes. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Q5PT65YD654FKOEVWKDJL23RAA.jpg?smart=true&auth=c197fbcd426e63d63325c21a67b1eb128326b2602ccc70c0d6b90281ed4d18e9&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Flame', 1975. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PKSLJ2I5ES5RUMXALQIUCF7YNE.jpg?smart=true&auth=bd643c71252b4e886a3ad30bebab97bf08b3ada1c8fbef61cbcf9941ed55bb64&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Melehi's 'Volcanic', 1975. Courtesy Alserkal Arts Foundation
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PMZFTXNT7C4E6SAGTC2VGZ3CCM.jpg?smart=true&auth=74151d453078373e3cf08205e3446e968466dc78e506d07b967f528b70ee1661&width=400&height=225)
The exhibition’s third section establishes Melehi’s practice within a larger movement – the rebirth of a national culture unmoored from its colonial past. Antonie Robertson / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SJYI5FAXDIT4U4UAV3TYZWEDUA.jpg?smart=true&auth=058eb29ac25231c06c7e48a0bbd50b57eb74abed0f03f84373096e43ea8a7221&width=400&height=225)
Fibulae, Berber jewellery, photographed by Mohamed Melehi. Melehi and the school encouraged students to draw from African and Amazigh (Berber) craft and decorative arts, such as textiles and jewellery, fusing it with geometric abstraction
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/DNSX2ZEULAN44A537QIRUBFBIQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=6d892d47ec4eca0e213b0b3ce05ca1dc814a941ce2c80236927e6da3c27f0df4&width=400&height=225)
View of a ceiling fresco by Melehi at Hotel Les Roses du Dades, Kelaa M’Gouna, Deep South, Morocco, 1971-1972. Faraoui and De Mazières Studio. Patrice de Mazières archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3SINJ5K2GBRUHCKCK3HMMVKNFY.jpg?smart=true&auth=14ba394a995b79d08b4be2dc8274def8bba386a25801eeed665eda7c83787325&width=400&height=225)
In this photo taken by Melehi, Ali Noury, student of the Casablanca Art School preparing the annual exhibition, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Arab League Park, Juin 1968. Chabaa family archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MUIJEBVPE5VY5TFAFVM6CYFLWM.jpg?smart=true&auth=213e43b55717dc9a80d688bd00b73470d9af21f600f28f38831be7feed3ab084&width=400&height=225)
Fresco by Mohammed Chabaa, Asilah Moussem, late 1970s. Safieddine-Melehi archives
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/36XY4MOSZUBTYF73GGGZ5YNVFM.jpg?smart=true&auth=28042f25528d32c0f6861d5893fed793f0f754f8128668256b1f434545cf2c85&width=400&height=225)
The show extends to a mural replica painted by Zayed University students outside of the venue. Seeing Things
Making waves: Mohamed Melehi's Dubai retrospective is a must-see
The Moroccan artist worked to build the country's postcolonial identity and bring art to the public
![Alexandra Chaves](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2Fbdf74649-e581-430d-bebb-05a009adb530.png?smart=true&auth=1aaef0ec554b632723f2f63cf60bfb8380f8e1ec18ca35283e642f53cc0bac8e&width=70&height=70)
Alexandra Chaves
28 September, 2020
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