Najia Mehadji

Since the 1980s, the work of French-Moroccan artist Najia Mehadji has followed a remarkable trajectory. From her early charcoal drawings – conceived as much as theatrical performances as plastic creations – to the later works that exalt the brushstroke, via creations that enigmatically evoke sacred architecture or those in which ornamental floçwers meld pure form and symbolism, Najia Mehadji’s poetics have found a true source of creative vitality in the dialogue between Western pictorial modernism and Sufi mysticism, and in the memory of Renaissance and Art Nouveau masterpieces. Sensitive to the enduring survival of forms, her work stands as an unprecedented expression of neo-symbolism.