Farid Belkahia

Morocco, b.1934 - 2014

Farid Belkahia attended École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris (1954-59) then studied theatrical design in Czechoslovakia.  Upon his return to Morocco in 1962, he was appointed Director of the École des Beaux Arts in Casablanca (1962-1974) and is a founder of the Casablanca School in Moroccan art.  Belkahia paints on hand-stretched skin and paper, using henna and other natural ingredients for his pigmentation, much like traditional craftsmen to execute his abstract works laden with folk iconography and symbolism.