The Easel

Looking Back At The Legacy Of Modernist Mohamed Melehi, As A Way Forward

In the midst of a major touring retrospective of his work, Melehi has fallen victim to Covid19. After an initial education in Morocco, he trained in Europe and then New York. While in New York, he developed a highly coloured, hard-edged abstract style that won international recognition. Returning to Morocco Melehi’s pioneering wave motifs showed how modern abstraction could be infused with Berber culture and Arabic calligraphy.