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.
Works
Untitled I
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.
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.
Exhibitions
Videos
Vidéo
Invisible Presences
Career
Solo exhibitions
2023
The Silent Garden, Galerie Siniya, Marrakech. Paris International Art Fair, Thinktanger.
2022
Orpin, Orangerie du Parc Prieuré, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Solo exhibitions
2023
The Silent Garden, Galerie Siniya, Marrakech. Paris International Art Fair, Thinktanger.
2022
Orpin, Orangerie du Parc Prieuré, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Paris International Art Fair, Tanger Print Club, Paris
2020
Demain Sera Beau, Galerie 127 Montreuil Vos Rêves, Artefact, Paris.
Manifeste d’un Fossile, Galerie Boa, Paris.
2019
Venus D’ailleurs, Galerie Villa Delaporte, Casablanca, Morroco
Anamorphia, Galerie Kulte, Rabat, Morocoo
2018
Objets Trouvés, Galerie Delacroix, Institut Français de Tanger, Morocco
2016
Objets Trouvés, Galerie Delacroix, Institut Français de Tanger.
2015
Objets Trouvés, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca.
2014
Objets Trouvés, The Ultra Laboratory, Casablanca.
2012
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca.
2010
Archetypes, Galerie Fj, Casablanca.
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
Entre Terre et Ciel, Galerie Al Manar, Casablanca
1999
Celebration De La Couleur, Galerie Al Manar, Casablanca
Group exhibitions
2024
In the Blood, Tiwany Contemporary, London, UK
Réveil Botanique, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris
FRIEZE London, Tiwany Contemporary, Londres
1:54 Art Fair, Galerie Siniya28, Marrakech
Demain est annulé, Fondation EDF, Paris, France.
As Feeling births idea, Tiwany Contemporary, London, UK
Les présences invisibles, Galerie Loft, Paris, France
2023
Supra Nature, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris.
Sans Réserve, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris
2022
Et l’art Alors ? Café Parisien, Saulieu
2020
L’antichambre Acte 2, Hôtel La Nouvelle République, Paris
Biennale De Rabat, Un Instant Avant Le Monde, Rabat
2019
Open Studio, 35000 Jovenes, Madrid Blue Note, Artorium, Casablanca
Design Without Designers, Ecole Des Beaux Arts Casablanca.
Kissaria Silkscreen Print Exhibition, Tanger
2018
Un Air De Famille. Parce Que Les Fantômes Disparaissent. Au Lever
Du Jour, Contemporary Art Sapce H2m – Bourg-En-Bresse
Chinese International Photography And Art Festival, Zhengzhou, Chine
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, Tanger
Spend, Galerie Kulte, Rabat
Field Work, Tiwani Contemporary, Londres
Héros, Anti-Héros & Personnages Extraordinaires, Galerie Comptoir Des Mines, Marrakech
2017
Le Salon du livre d’art des Afriques, La Colonie, Paris
Footprint Zero, L’uzine Casablanca, Tamaas Foundation, New York
Héros, antihéros & personnages extraordinaires, Comptoir des mines gallery, Marrakech
Field Work, Tiwani Contemporary, Londres
2016
Exposition d’ouverture, Institut du Monde arabe, Tourcoing
Ruptures, Galerie Comptoir Des Mines, Marrakech Art Dubai
Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca Marrakech
Biennale 6, Kech Collective, Marrakech Biennale
Do it in Arabic, Sharjah, UAE
2014
Maroc Contemporain, Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris
Photo Docks Art Fair, Pavillon 8, Quai Rambaud, Lyon
1914-2014 Cent Ans De Création Au Maroc, Musée D’art Contemporain, Rabat
Dix Mots Arabe Voyageurs, Musée De La Fondation Slaoui, Casablanca Marrakech
Biennale 5: W5, Galerie Bck, Marrakech
Entre-Je, Recits Féminins Du Corps, Galerie 127, Marrakech
Awiiily Group Show, Nothing Space, Studio 219, Brooklyn, New York
Fotofever Brussels, Tour And Taxis, Galerie 127, Bruxelles Shame! (Hide & Show) > Event, Pianofabriek, Bruxelles
2013
100 Ans, 100 Artistes, 100 Œuvres, Fondation Société Générale, Casablanca
Shame! (Hide & Show) > event, Pianofabriek, Bruxelles
Fotofever Brussels, Tour and Taxis, Galerie 127, Bruxelles
Awiiily Group Show, Nothing Space, Studio 129, Brooklyn, New York
2012
Beirut Art Fair, Galerie Le Violon Bleu, Beirut
Biennale 4 Off Marrakech, Mastermind, Galerie Venise Cadre, Marrakech
2011
L’amour et la violence, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Network, Mastermind Program, Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca
Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech
2010
Paysages, Commissariat Mohamed Rachdi, Sgmb, Casablanca
Woman And Art, Contemporary Art Museum, Sharjah
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, Syrie
Journées culturelles du Maroc, Syrie
Something Different, Apw Gallery, New York
2008
Marrocos, Faap, Sao Paulo.
Galerie Hohenthal Und Bergen, Berlin
Estampe Plurielles, Institut Francais, Casablanca et Tanger
Institutional Collections
Fondattion Blachere (France)
MAC VAL (France) Yale University (USA)
The University Of North Carolina (USA)
Berkley University (USA)
Musée Mohamed Vi Rabat (Maroc)
Fondation Alliance (Maroc)
Royal Library Of Netherlands (Pays Bas)
Artphilin Foundation (Suisse)
The Prince Claus Fund (Netherlands)
Institut Du Monde Arabe (France)
Inter Continental Montelucia Resort & Spa (USA)
Palais Royal (Maroc)
Fondation Societe Generale (Maroc)
Siemens Fondation Societe Generale (Maroc)