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Omar Mahfoudi
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Born 1981 in Tangier, Morocco
Lives and works in Paris, France
Over the last three years, Omar Mahfoudi has looked at the world from a political and humanistic point of view, leading to less figurative work. His work on emptiness has led Mahfoudi to consider much more abstract elements, playing with presence and absence. Emptiness and a form of existential solitude fill his works with mystery. Echoing the cinema of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010,  lush vegetation, disturbing shadows, and a washed-out atmosphere nourish Mahfoudi’s visions, oscillating between lost paradise, melancholy twilight, and unfathomable nights. In this constant balancing act between lightness and darkness, figuration and abstraction, and tension and appeasement, Mahfoudi composes a painting that is both oxymoronic and cinematic.
Omar Mahfoudi, Sitting in the blue tree, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 160 cm. Courtesy of AFIKARIS.

Artists 2022