Omar Mahfoudi
OMAR MAHFOUDI WAS BORN IN 1981 IN TANGIER, MOROCCO. HE LIVES AND WORKS IN PARIS.
Omar Mahfoudi grew up not far from the Detroit, where he discovered painting within his family circle and drawing through personal experiments. But it was at the age of 12 that young Omar developed his eye and his technique at the Catholic school in Tangier, where he took part in art history and plastic arts courses.
After having long proposed compositions marked by the presence of the materials, Omar Mahfoudi turned to the fluidity of liquid acrylic and ink, favouring compositions that play on the border between figuration and abstraction.
Omar Mahfoudi's boundless admiration for cinema is perceptible in his work as much by the references that are slipped in as by the games of framing, colourimetry and luminosity present in his pictorial work. His life experiences, personal research and his cultural knowledge feed his poetic and humanistic creations.
Omar Mahfoudi plays with presence and absence through the emptiness that fills his works with a mystery, alongside a form of existential solitude. His compositions can be distinguished sometimes by lush vegetation, sometimes by a desert biome, sometimes by disturbing shadows, sometimes by soothing figures. They unfold in a faded atmosphere, oscillating between lost paradise, melancholic twilight and unfathomable night.
Thus, in this constant balancing act between presence and absence, figuration and abstraction, tension and appeasement, Omar Mahfoudi composes a painting that is both oxymoronic and cinematic.
His work has been presented at numerous international events, such as the 1-54 fair in London in the UK, Art Genève in Switzerland and Art Cologne in Germany.
-
Faces 1, 2024
-
Like a bird, 2024
-
Lost Times, 2024
-
L’inconnu de la Colline, 2024
-
Le cavalier, 2023
-
Le chemin, 2023
-
Le garçon aux fleurs orange, 2023
-
Les cinq garçons, 2023
-
Paint in Red, 2023
-
L'orangeraie, 2022
-
Orange dream, 2024
-
À fleur de peau, 2022
-
Les fleurs du vendredi, 2024
-
Dans la maison, 2023
-
Blue Bird 2, 2022
-
Window and flowers, 2022
-
Sur la branche 6, 2022
-
The Blue Rider, 2023
-
Yellow Freesia, 2022
-
À fleur de peau 2, 2022
-
Tomboy, 2021
-
Come back to me , 2021
-
Les branches de la nuit 3, 2021
-
Golden Oasis 9, 2021
-
In the world is where we need our flowers, 2021
-
Waiting in Merzouga, 2021
-
The Golden Oasis 3, 2021
-
Far from me, 2021
-
You go your way, i'll go your way too, 2021
-
J'aurais jamais dû m'éloigner de mon arbre 1, 2022
-
Les gorges de Toudgha, 2022
-
Des branches oubliées, 2022
-
Blue Light Night, 2022
-
Waiting in the oasis, 2021
-
Blue Light Sea, 2022
-
Les égarés 3, 2019
-
Pink Lake, 2023
-
Baigneur 1, 2019
-
The Blue Palm, 2021
-
Swimmer, 2022
-
Blue storm / Orage bleu, 2020
-
Sans titre, 2020
-
Sans titre, 2020
-
Sans titre, 2020
-
Inhabiting the World
Group Show 4 Jul - 10 Aug 2024From July 4th to August 10th, AFIKARIS hosts its traditional summer group show. This year, Inhabiting the World unveils the work of 12 artists and approaches the complexity of human beings through their relationship with the world.Read more
-
Dans la maison
Omar Mahfoudi 9 Nov - 9 Dec 2023AFIKARIS converts the last room of its gallery space loacted at 7 rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth in ParisRead more
into a Project Room. The first artist to occupy this innovative and immersive space is Omar Mahfoudi. For this premiere, he has chosen to set up a fictitious living room and workshop. Visitors will be invited to take a seat on the sofa, immerse themselves in videos made in 2018, observe his works in progress or enjoy an eclectic playlist. -
Ce que nous donne la terre
Group Show 6 Jul - 23 Sep 2023The group show Ce que nous donne la terre (What the Earth Gives Us) is a call to pay attention to our environment, its mutations and the depletion of its resources.Read more -
The Forgotten Branches
Omar Mahfoudi 16 Dec 2022 - 25 Feb 2023We are pleased to announce the second solo exhibition held at the gallery devoted to Omar Mahfoudi. Under the title The Forgotten Branches, it will take place from December 16th to January 14th.Read more
Omar Mahfoudi invites the viewers to meet him on the 'forgotten branches', a matador for childhood, the past and our ancestors. It is in this constant balancing act between past and present, memory and fantasy, that Omar Mahfoudi's work invites the Parisian public to reconnect with their roots and recreate the lost osmosis between Humanity and Nature. -
Classique!
Group show 16 Jul - 17 Sep 2022We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new Parisian space located at 7 rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, 75003 Paris. The inaugural exhibition Classique! - featuring works by - Moustapha Baidi Oumarou, Matthew Eguavoen, Salifou Lindou, Omar Mahfoudi, Richard Mensah, Ousmane Niang, Jean David Nkot, Nana Yaw Oduro, Hyacinthe Ouattara, Daniel Pengrapher and Marc Posso - it will take place from July 16th to September 17th.Read more -
El Dorado
Omar Mahfoudi 11 Dec 2021 - 11 Jan 2022Liquid landscapes and cryptic characters inhabit the art of Omar Mahfoudi. The Moroccan painter living in Paris proposes dreamlike painting, tainted with melancholy and mystery. He recently makes gold and...Read more -
Quitter la ville
Moustapha Baidi Oumarou & Omar Mahfoudi 9 Jan - 10 Feb 2021In the context of the current international health crisis, leaving the city appears to be an escape route. If a time existed where cities embodied endless possibilities, they could reveal...Read more
-
1-54 Marrakech
Marrakech | Morocco 29 Jan - 2 Feb 2025AFIKARIS Gallery is delighted to take part in 1-54 Marrakech for the third time. This year, the gallery's presentation will include works by Moroccan artists Omar Mahfoudi and Mouhcine Rahaoui, alongside with Hervé Yamguen's bronze sculptures and Ozioma Onuzulike wall tapestries in ceramic.Read more -
Untitled Art
Miami | USA 4 - 8 Dec 2024AFIKARIS will take part in the Untitled Miami art fair for the third time. On this occasion, the gallery's booth unveils an exploration of material, showcasing a wide range of mediums echoing the environment in which they are exhibited and questioning our relationship to our environment.Read more -
Art Brussels
Brussels | Belgium 25 - 28 Apr 2024For its second participation in Art Brussels, AFIKARIS Gallery presents a selection of painted photographs and watercolor on paper by Saïdou Dicko, Omar Mahfoudi's liquid inks on paper and canvas, Hervé Yamguen’s bronze sculptures, Ozioma Onuzulike’s wall tapestries in clay and Salifou Lindou’s pastel on paper. The presentation thus testifies to the diversity of contemporary art practices. A focus on drawing and small-size works is unveiled in an intimate presentation in the heart of the booth, unfolding as a drawing cabinet.Read more -
Art Brussels
Brussels | Belgium 20 - 23 Apr 2023Exhibiting artists Nasreddine Bennacer Saïdou Dicko Omar Mahfoudi Ousmane Niang Jean David Nkot Ozioma Onuzulike TemandrotaRead more
-
Artgenève
Geneva | Switzerland 26 - 29 Jan 2023EXHIBITING ARTISTS : Saïdou Dicko Omar Mahfoudi Ousmane Niang Ozioma OnuzulikeRead more -
1-54 London
London | UK 13 - 16 Oct 2022EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Ozioma Onuzulike Salifou Lindou Omar MahfoudiRead more -
BAD+
Bordeaux | France 7 - 10 Jul 2022EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Moustapha Baidi Oumarou Saïdou Dicko Salifou Lindou Jean David Nkot Hyacinthe Ouattara Omar MahfoudiRead more -
1-54 Paris
Paris | France 7 - 10 Apr 2022EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Salifou Lindou Omar Mahfoudi Moustapha Baidi Oumarou Jean David Nkot Matthew EguavoenRead more
-
Omar Mahfoudi – The Art Newspaper
Olivier Rachet, The Art Newspaper Edition française, March 1, 2022 -
Omar Mahfoudi – Afrique Magazine
Fouzia Marouf, Afrique Magazine, April 1, 2022 -
Omar Mahfoudi – Diptyk
Laetitia Dechanet, Diptyk, December 12, 2022 -
Ce que nous donne la terre
Barbara Norton , Autre Magazine , August 23, 2023