Ali Maimoun
Lives & Works in Essaouira, Morocco
Ali Maimoun is known for using coloured sawdust to give his work a sculptural and rhythmic quality that veers from the aggressive to the hypnotic. The condensed surfaces of his paintings are saturated with colour, intricate designs, and shapes carved out from sawdust paint left to dry. He was originally a mason and expressed his creative talent with stone sculptures before becoming a self-taught painter. Diving into painting, he is inspired by his daily life and has infused this with longstanding mythology and figures from across the continent. His expression is rooted in Amazigh and wider African heritage and in particular those relating to magic and trance rituals. His work oozes all that is mysterious and not verbally communicated in our present understanding of the world.
Most recent exhibitions to present Maimoun’s work include Berhiss et les artistes souiris, Institut Français de Tanger (2022); Outsiders / Insiders? Artistes d’Essaouira des collections Fondation Alliances et Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober, MACAAL, Marrakech (2021); Esoteric Writings, MACAAL, Marrakech (2018); the Marrakech Biennale (2016); Le Maroc Contemporain, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2015) and Artistas Singulares Marroquies, Sa Bassa Blanca Museum, Mallorca (2014). Maimoun’s work is part of many prestigious national and international collections.
Ali Maimoun will be presented by Galerie SINIYA28.
Untitled, 1994 Acrylic and sawdust on panel 79 x 62 cm
