Rita Alaoui

Rita Alaoui is a Franco-Moroccan artist who lives and works in Paris. She graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York. Fascinated and amazed by the forces of nature, Rita focuses her approach on the representation of a dreamlike and sacred nature. It combines several references, from garden art to botany, from animism to ancestral medicinal practices. The question that drives Rita Alaoui's research is that of her role as an artist in relation to this silent matter that surrounds us: for her it is a question of reproducing the vestiges of nature, left by the passage of time, to rethink our connection to the wild world, to reinterpret the familiar and imagine connections with the extraordinary.

Biography

Rita Alaoui is a Franco-Moroccan artist, born in Rabat in 1972, who lives and works in Paris. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York, where she lived until the late 1990s.

Fascinated by the power of nature, the healing virtues of plants, and deeply concerned about a disappearing world, she focuses her approach on representing a dreamlike, sacred, and restorative nature. Although strongly influenced by the wild landscapes and distinctive light of Morocco that marked her childhood, her work addresses universal themes. She blends various references, including the art of gardening, to which she imparts an animistic dimension, evoking a sense of romanticism.

Initially a painter, Rita Alaoui explores a variety of creative mediums, ranging from painting and drawing to photography, installation, video performance, and the creation of artist books. Her process, reminiscent of botany or archaeology, centers on collecting, accumulating, and observing objects she finds in nature. She meticulously organizes these objects in her studio, which she regards as a temple, bestowing upon them an unsuspected sense of sacredness or spirituality. Each small fragment—whether bone, stone, or plant—becomes a rich subject for the artist, who pays particular attention to their sometimes unusual shapes and textures.

The question driving Rita Alaoui’s research is her role as an artist in relation to the silent matter surrounding us. She seeks to reproduce the remnants of nature left by the passage of time, rethink our connection to the wild world, reinterpret the familiar, and imagine connections to the extraordinary.

Her paintings delve into the details of natural and seemingly mundane objects that she collects, sometimes reinterpreting them by staging them in pictorial works that recompose spaces and relationships between these objects. For instance, the view of her garden from her studio inspires her to create spaces where the wild world and domesticated nature confront each other.

Deeply interested in the intimate and free relationship between writing and visual arts, and passionate about book objects, Rita Alaoui also focuses her research on the creation of artist books. She combines a plastic and aesthetic approach to the object with a form of simple, meditative writing. Each book becomes a unique work of art in its own right, and in a sense, sacred. Rita Alaoui’s work has been featured in numerous national and international exhibitions.

Career

Solo Exhibitions

2023
Le Jardin Silencieux, Galerie Siniya, Marrakech
Paris International Art Fair, Thinktanger

2022
Orpin, Orangerie du Parc Prieuré, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine

2020
Demain Sera Beau, Galerie 127, Montreuil
Vos Rêves, Artefact, Paris

2019
Manifeste d’un Fossile, Galerie Boa, Paris
Anamorphia, Galerie Kulte, Rabat

2018
Venus D’ailleurs, Galerie Villa Delaporte, Casablanca

2016
Objets Trouvés, Galerie Delacroix, Institut Français de Tanger
Objets Trouvés, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca

2015
Objets Trouvés, The Ultra Laboratory, Casablanca

2014
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Archetypes, Galerie Fj, Casablanca

2010
Cones, Cupcakes, and Dragonflies, Galerie Shart, Casablanca

2009
Profondeur Végétale, Atelier Privé, Casablanca

2007
Organic Machine, Galerie Shart, Casablanca

2006
Transparences, Galerie Tadhart, Marrakech

2005
Matrice, Galerie Toubkal, Montpellier

2004
Galerie Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat

2003
Absolument Artiste, Barok Café, Casablanca
Entre Terre et Ciel, Galerie Al Manar, Casablanca

1999
Célébration de la Couleur, Galerie Al Manar, Casablanca

Group Exhibitions

2024
In the Blood, Tiwani Contemporary, London
Réveil Botanique, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris
FRIEZE London, Tiwani Contemporary, London
1:54 Art Fair, Galerie Siniya28, Marrakech
Demain est annulé, Fondation EDF, Paris
As Feeling Births Idea, Tiwani Contemporary, London

2023
Supra Nature, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris
Sans Réserve, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris

2022
Et 'Art Alors?, Café Parisien, Saulieu

2021
L’antichambre Acte 2, Hôtel La Nouvelle République, Paris
Rabat Biennale: Un Instant Avant le Monde, Rabat

2019
Open Studio, 35000 Jovenes, Madrid
Blue Note, Artorium, Casablanca
Design Without Designers, École des Beaux-Arts, Casablanca
Kissaria Silkscreen Print Exhibition, Tangier

2018
Un Air de Famille, Contemporary Art Space H2M, Bourg-en-Bresse
Chinese International Photography and Art Festival, Zhengzhou, China
Un Œil Ouvert sur le Monde Arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
Make It Yourself, Espace Culturel Douta Seck, Dakar Biennale
Cool Hunting, Galerie Mohamed Idrissi, Tangier
Spend, Galerie Kulte, Rabat
Field Work, Tiwani Contemporary, London
Héros, Anti-Héros & Personnages Extraordinaires, Galerie Comptoir des Mines, Marrakech

2017
Salon du Livre d’Art des Afriques, La Colonie, Paris
Footprint Zero, L'Uzine, Casablanca & Tamaas Foundation, New York

2016
Exposition d’Ouverture, Institut du Monde Arabe, Tourcoing
Ruptures, Galerie Comptoir des Mines, Marrakech
Art Dubai 2016, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Marrakech Biennale 6, Kech Collective, Marrakech

2014
Do It in Arabic, Sharjah, UAE
Le Mois de la Photo, Paris
Maroc Contemporain, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
Photo Docks Art Fair, Quai Rambaud, Lyon
1914-2014: Cent Ans de Création au Maroc, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Rabat
Dix Mots Arabes Voyageurs, Musée de la Fondation Slaoui, Casablanca
Marrakech Biennale 5: W5, Galerie BCK, Marrakech
Entre-Je: Récits Féminins du Corps, Galerie 127, Marrakech
Awiiily Group Show, Studio 219, Brooklyn, New York
Fotofever Brussels, Tour and Taxis, Galerie 127, Brussels
Shame! (Hide & Show), Pianofabriek, Brussels

2013
100 Ans, 100 Artistes, 100 Œuvres, Fondation Société Générale, Casablanca

2012
Beirut Art Fair, Galerie Le Violon Bleu, Beirut
Marrakech Biennale 4 Off: Mastermind, Galerie Venise Cadre, Marrakech
Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech

2011
L’Amour et la Violence, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Network, Mastermind Program, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Paysages, Curated by Mohamed Rachdi, SGMB, Casablanca
Women and Art, Contemporary Art Museum, Sharjah

2010
Something Different, APW Gallery, New York

2009
Art et Environnement, Villa des Arts, Casablanca
Les Transculturelles des Abattoirs, Anciens Abattoirs de Casablanca
La Journée de la Femme, Essaouira
Journées Culturelles du Maroc, Syria

2008
Marrocos, FAAP, São Paulo
Galerie Hohenthal und Bergen, Berlin
Estampe Plurielles, Institut Français, Casablanca and Tangier

Institutional Collections

  • Fondation Blachère (France)
  • MAC VAL (France)
  • Yale University (USA)
  • University of North Carolina (USA)
  • Berkeley University (USA)
  • Musée Mohamed VI, Rabat (Morocco)
  • Fondation Alliance (Morocco)
  • Royal Library of the Netherlands (Netherlands)
  • Artphilin Foundation (Switzerland)
  • The Prince Claus Fund (Netherlands)
  • Institut du Monde Arabe (France)
  • InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa (USA)
  • Palais Royal (Morocco)
  • Fondation Société Générale (Morocco)
  • Siemens (Global)