Rezki Zerarti (born 24 July 1938) is an Algerian painter.

Biography

Rezki Zerarti was born in 1938 in Taourga within

lower Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...

during the period of

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, and he left during the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

in 1959 to the town of

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he worked as a mason, before starting to follow a few drawing lessons, and the same year he began to paint. He returned to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

after Independence in August 1962, and settled in the district of Pointe-Pescade (

Raïs Hamidou Hamidou ben Ali , known as Raïs Hamidou (), or Amidon in American literature, born around 1770 in Algiers, and died on June 17, 1815, near Cape Gata off the coast of southern Spain, was an Algerian corsair. He captured up to 200 ships during his ...

) in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, and opened his painting studio in the vicinity of the accommodation of the poet Jean Sénac who met him in 1963.

Exhibitions

Reski Zérarti takes part in the two “Algerian Painters” exhibitions organized in Algiers for the “Fêtes du 1er novembre 1963” then in Paris in 1964. His first personal exhibition was presented at Galerie 54 in 1964, and prefaced by Sénac. He became a member of the UNAP, he participated in its salons and from 1967 to 1971 in the events of the group "Aouchem" (Tattoo) which brought together a dozen artists, poets and painters, notably with Baya, Denis Martinez and Choukri Mesli.

Awards

In 1972, he received the first prize for the “10th anniversary of Independence” and in 1979, the second prize for the “25th anniversary of November 1, 1954”. In 2003, he obtained the 1st prize in the competition organized by the Asselah foundation.

Activity resumption

After a long absence from the art scene for nearly twenty years, Zerarti resumed exhibiting his paintings in 1999.

References

External links