This new exhibition organised by the National Museums Foundation and the Arab World Institute is held at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat from March, 1st.
Enriched by recent major donation from Lebanese collectors Claude & France Lemand, this selection of works from the Institute of the Arab World is shown for the first time at another institution. It presents a rich panorama of the avant-garde of the plural modernities of the countries of the Arab world from 1945 to the present day, with a majority of paintings but also sculptures, photographs and graphic works.
Sixteen Arab countries are represented in the exhibition: Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen.
The event is divided into four parts:
- "A mirror of the Arab World: Inspiring Traditions": this first part looks at the reappropriation by Arab artists of their heritage, free of all occidentalism. Artists from the Mashreq and the Maghreb reinvested their pre-Islamic heritage: rock art in Algeria, Mesopotamian art in Iraq, Pharaonic art in Egypt, Nabataean art in Jordan and Roman art in Lebanon. Ancient civilisations and archaeological remains inspired artists, some of whom were experts in their own right (Adam Henein or Dia Al Azzawi).
- "Plural territories of abstraction: national and international statements": this second part focuses on abstract art in the Arab world from the 1960s onwards, which draws on popular forms (tattoos, talismans, graffiti, etc.).
- "Between bruises and hopes, the weight of History": this third part tackles art and the Arab world facing the rise of nationalism and socialism in a context of Cold War and decolonization. Lebanese, Sudanese, Palestinian, Iraqi, Libyan and Syrian artists bear witness to totalitarianism, civil wars, terrorism and exile.
- "And tomorrow? A human condition on the move": the exhibition concludes with the reappropriation of the body through plastic arts in an Arab world which integrates nudes in its art. The human condition, introspection and existential questioning are recurring themes for many artists: Lebanese Paul Guiragossian, Syrian Marwan and Moroccan Mahi Binebine.
Photo: "Composition", Dia Azzawi, 1986. Copyrights IMA Museum.