Mohamed Melehi (Morocco, 1936-2020) Untitled oil on canvas signed MELEHI and dated 2004 on the verso, executed in 2004 150 x 150cm (59 1/16 x 59 1/16in). Footnotes: FOUR MAGNIFICIENT COMPOSITIONS BY MOHAMED MELEHI FROM A PRIVATE MORROCAN COLLECTION Provenance: Property from a private collection Morocco Purchased directly from the artist by the present owner Bonhams is delighted to present four magnificent paintings by the defining Moroccan modernist Mohammed Melehi. Melehi studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Tetouan, Morocco before going to study abroad at the Ecole superieure des Beaux-Arts Isabel de Hungria in Seville; the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts San Fernando in Madrid; the Academie des Beaux-Arts and the Istituto Statale d'Arte in Italy and the Ecole nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1964, Melehi returned to Morocco and became a professor of painting, sculpture and photography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Casablanca from 1964 up until 1969 which was directed by Farid Belkahia. Melehi, Belkhahia and Chebaa formed the Casablanca group with an exhibition in Rabat in 1966. In addition to new modernist style in their personal work was also known for a pedagogy that focused on rooting modernism in local visual culture. Since the 1960s his body of work has been based around the recurrent motif of waves; the canvases are consistently hard-edged and optic abstractions. His lines are clean, the colours are clearly delineated and the brushstrokes and movements of his paintbrush are not visible. The waves themselves are often reconfigured, turned vertically to become flames, or cutting across the canvas on angle. The waves in his oeuvre have been linked to the waves on the beaches of Melehi's hometown Asilah. He has stayed consistent but reconfiguring similar elements in his research into colour and form, while continually varying small details, orientation, and the colour combinations, as well as adding other abstract shapes or symbols. He has re-worked his waves in other mediums, such as a sculpture in Mexico in 1968 for the International Meeting of Sculptors, in posters and murals or integrated into architectural projects. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com