Algérie, 1997

Djamel Tatah

Djamel Tatah’s refined paintings reveal the way in which humanity can assert itself as a presence in the world. From reality, ordinary life and world events, the artist paints life-size figures which seem to be suspended in time, set in unspecified places and caught up in a world of silence. Reinterpreting solitude as virtue, Tatah intends to surpass reality, experimenting with colour, light and line to explore his feelings of being part of the world.

”My painting is silent, and imposing silence on all the chaos of life is almost like making a political statement. It allows one to step back and examine one’s relationship to others and to society as a whole”.

Born in 1959, the Franco-Algerian artist studied in France at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Etienne from 1981 to 1986. He has taught at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris since 2008. He lives and works near Avignon in France.

Tatah has presented his works throughout France and the world over, including Salamanca Arts Centre (Spain), Guangdong Museum of Art (China), MAMAC Nice and Château de Chambord (France), Villa Medici (Italy), Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Algier (Algeria), Fondation Maeght and Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Saint-Etienne Métropole (France) and the Lambert Collection in Avignon.

Tatah’s work is included in prominent private and public collections such as Barjeel Art Foundation (UAE), The British Museum (UK), Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, MAACAL (Marrakech), and Fondation Maeght (France). Read more

MACAAL - Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden

In 2016, Fondation Alliances committed itself to long-term public action in order to contribute to the development of educational and cultural leisure activities in Marrakech by offering the city an art museum.

The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, is an independent, not-for-profit contemporary art museum and one of the first of its kind in North Africa.

MACAAL is dedicated to the promotion of African art across a range of media, with diverse exhibition and educational programmes. The museum nurtures an understanding of contemporary African art by collecting and exhibiting both established and emerging artists, and highlighting the creative energy and cultural diversity found across the continent.

MACAAL is a philanthropic initiative of Moroccan art collectors Alami Lazraq and his son Othman Lazraq. It forms part of their charitable not-for-profit association Fondation Alliances, which focuses on supporting cultural development in Morocco. Motivated by a passion for the arts, and managed by Othman, MACAAL brings the Lazraq family’s private collection of modern and contemporary African art, built up over the past 40 years, to a broader audience.

Othman Lazraq — President
Mouna Lazraq — Head of the Commercial Department
Meriem Berrada — Artistic Director
Janine Dieudji — Exhibitions Director
Hanaa El mrabet — Sales and Event Planning Manager
Yassir Yarji — Gallery Educator

MACAAL
Al Maaden, Sidi Youssef Ben Ali
40000 Marrakech, Morocco Read more