A Moroccan Modernist Retrospective | Abdesslam Sakini

opening

Sat 25 May @ 2.00pm | aerie gallery, Burrinja

Abdesslam Sakini (born 1st Jan 1943) is a Moroccan Artist who was part of the Casablanca Art School (CAS) during the period it revolutionised modern art in post-colonial Morocco. Sakini has travelled and studied in Europe attending art schools in both Paris and Rome. Having worked with many artists who are regarded as pioneers of the modern Moroccan art movement Sakini’s contemporaries are held in high esteem and exhibited at galleries globally.

Sakini’s influences are evident in his paintings. Earlier works reference his teachers and colleagues at the Casablanca School of Art such as Mohamed Melehi and Mohammed Chabâa. Bold use of geometric shapes and abstract patterns create striking compositions on the canvas. Hard edged, architectural forms sit within symmetrical layouts. More recent works take on a less rigid aesthetic inspired by many years in the Australian landscape. These paintings feature flora and fauna recreated with an abstract colour palette
that evokes the extremes of the Australian environment.

As part of the exhibition opening there will be a screening of the short film Si Moh - The Unlucky Man (French: Si Moh - Pas de Chance) | Directed by Moumen Smihi, starring Abdesslam Sakini.

Made in France in 1971, Si Moh is an investigation of the life of migrant workers in France. Connected back to the Maghreb by postcards and to his fellow migrants by shared experiences of alienation, the character Simoh negotiates the industrialized suburbs of Paris as the subject of Moumen Smihi’s intimate camera.

Sat 25 @ 2.45pm | Lyre Room

Image credit: Abdesslam Sakini