Farid Belkahia (; 1934 - 2014) was a Moroccan

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

artist and education reformer. He served as the director of the School of Fine Arts of Casablanca from 1962 to 1974, during the period of the Casablanca school modernist movement. As an artist, he worked primarily in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

and leatherwork.

Personal life

He was born to a wealthy family in Marrakesh. His father's circle of friends included the Polish artist Olek Teslar and the French artist Jeannine Guillou. Through Guillou, Farid Belkahia met

Nicolas de Staël Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles. Early life ...

in 1937. Belkahia studied at the of Paris 1954 to 1959. He continued his studies in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and returned to Morocco in 1962.

Art

While he was influenced by the aesthetics of Western minimalism and

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, he was also interested in visual cultures of Moroccan heritage, incorporating this into his work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkahia, Farid 20th-century Moroccan artists People from Marrakesh 20th-century Moroccan painters Moroccan male painters