Born 1959 in Marrakech, Morocco. Lives and works in Marrakech.
Born in Marrakech in 1959, Mahi Binebine is a major figure of the contemporary Moroccan art scene. After studying mathematics in Paris, which he taught for several years, he devoted himself entirely to writing and painting. The author of twelve novels, among them Les Étoiles de Sidi Moumen, adapted for the screen by Nabil Ayouch as Horses of God, Binebine is also a co-founder of the Marrakech African Book Festival.
More about the artist→
His works, exhibited in prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, explore the paradoxes of the human condition: shadow and light, memory and forgetting, earthly rootedness and spiritual elevation. Through sculpture, painting and bas-relief, he unfolds a poetic tension between harshness and gentleness, violence and transcendence.
Deeply committed to cultural development, he presides, in partnership with the Ali Zaoua Foundation, over six cultural centres called Les Étoiles, offering disadvantaged children access to art and education. After a stay in New York from 1994 to 1999, he returned to Marrakech, where he lives and works.
Education1→
Études de mathématiques, Paris, discipline qu’il enseignera huit ans
Awards5→
2020
Prix Méditerranée pour Rue du Pardon
2010
Prix du roman arabe pour Les Étoiles de Sidi MoumenPrix La Mamounia, Marrakech
2001
Prix de l’amitié franco-arabe pour Pollens
1992
Prix Méditerranée pour Le Sommeil de l’esclave
Solo exhibitions (selection)46→
2024
On the Line, Sapar Contemporary, New York
2022
Pas de deux, L’Atelier 21
2020
Horizons obliques, Comptoir des Mines Galerie, Marrakech
2018
Indivision, avec Hassan Darsi, Art Space, CasablancaInsoumission, Le Bastion de France, Porto-VecchioGalerie Noir sur Blanc, Marrakech
2017
Rétrospective, Galerie Claude Lemand, ParisMémoire en mouvements, Galerie Abla Ababou, RabatAaart Foundation, KitzbühelGalerie DX, Bordeaux
2016
MACMA, Marrakech
2015
Insoumission, Musée de la Palmeraie, Marrakech
2014
Musée de la Palmeraie, Marrakech
2013
Galerie Document 15, Paris
2012
Galerie 38, CasablancaGalerie Albert Benamou, Paris
Dessine-moi un tapis, Comptoir des Mines Galerie, Marrakech
2013
25 ans d’art contemporain arabe, Institut du monde arabe, Paris
2012
Institut du monde arabe, ParisMusée national du Yémen, SanaaJordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman
2009
53e Biennale de Venise, Venise
2008
Fondation FAAP, São PauloGalerie Navarra, Paris
2007
Musée central d’État d’histoire contemporaine de Russie, Moscou
Public collections8→
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New YorkInstitut du monde arabe, ParisMACAAL, Musée d’art contemporain africain Al Maaden, MarrakechMusée de MarrakechMusée de Bank Al-Maghrib, RabatRamzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, BeyrouthKamel Lazaar Foundation, TunisKinda Foundation, Riyad
