Casablanca – Villa Carl Ficke is celebrating Mustapha Boujemaoui’s artistic legacy with a landmark exhibition titled “Mustapha Boujemaoui: The Poetics of Forms,” which opened on Wednesday and runs through November 30.
The exhibition brings together works that span over 50 years of artistic research, reflecting an evolving practice shaped by memory, experience, and continuous exploration.
Through his work, Boujemaoui engages with intangible heritage, inviting visitors not only to look, but also to reflect, question, and reconnect with Moroccan cultural memory.
Themes of travel, movement, and the passage of time run through his artistic journey, alongside a deep engagement with Morocco’s collective memory and social evolution.
His inspiration often emerges from everyday Moroccan objects and symbols, including the traditional tea glass known as “kas l’anba” and newspapers, which he transforms into poetic visual elements.
A dialogue between artist and viewer
Through this approach, Boujemaoui reinterprets ordinary objects, placing them within a contemporary artistic language that bridges memory and modernity, giving his work an international resonance.
Working across canvas, wood, and paper, and using techniques such as painting, collage, and printmaking, Boujemaoui builds layered works where objects gain depth and material presence, reflecting a constant dialogue between tradition and contemporary practice.
Speaking to MWN Lifestyle magazine at the opening, Boujemaoui noted that his work evolves in direct relation to lived experience, with each piece shaped by the moment in which it is created.
He added that the artist’s role is to give form to what he feels, even when it may not be immediately accepted or fully understood.
For him, art becomes a dialogue between creator and viewer, where meaning is not fixed but gradually built through questions, reflection, and personal interpretation.
‘The path of light’
This dynamic, ever-evolving conversation between the artwork and the public is exactly what anchors the exhibition within its physical venue. For Mehdi Qotbi, President of the National Foundation of Museums, the exhibition reflects this living dimension of art.
“We have chosen an exceptional artist who does remarkable work. This is why we wanted him to be present. It also allows both the museum and Boujemaoui’s work to truly live,” he told MWN Lifestyle magazine.
Qotbi emphasized the idea of museums as living spaces rather than static ones, where exhibitions bring institutions to life and keep art accessible to the public.
“I am very happy because Moroccans are going to museums,” he said. “Today we have the chance to see more people taking this path, which I call the path of light.”
He added that “the beauty of the arts, the beauty of the works, and the beauty of colors all give people a sense of light.”
Ultimately, “The Poetics of Forms” offers a quiet space where familiar objects are re-seen rather than simply represented, allowing memory, material, and meaning to overlap.
Through this lens, Boujemaoui’s practice unfolds as an invitation to slow observation, where everyday forms open onto wider reflections on time, culture, and perception.
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