Some calligraphers spend years perfecting a single letter. Others deliberately make their writing impossible to read. In Morocco you will find both, and the contrast is fascinating.
Calligraphy has deep roots here: Morocco developed its own script, the Maghribi, and in December 2021 UNESCO inscribed the art of Arabic calligraphy on its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Meet seven artists who make letters dance.
1. Abdelwahab Belkhayat, the heir
Calligraphy was a family affair: Abdelwahab Belkhayat learned it from his father. He then took it somewhere new, layering letters with texture and earthy colours on canvas and cardboard. Several of his works are available now. See Abdelwahab Belkhayat's works.
2. Mohamed Amzil, the classicist
Born in 1964 and trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca, Mohamed Amzil went to the source: he received his diploma in the thuluth and naskh scripts from the Turkish master Hasan Çelebi. Prizewinner in Istanbul and Baghdad, he presides over the Moroccan Association of Calligraphy. If you love classical perfection, start here.
3. Noureddine Daifallah, the painter of the unreadable
Born in Marrakech in 1960, he first exhibited at 17. He was a prizewinner in Istanbul in 1991, and in 2002 the Guggenheim Museum in New York acquired two of his works. The twist? His letters dissolve into loops and rhythms so completely that, as the Moroccan press once put it, he is the only one who can decipher his paintings.
4. Mohamed Qarmad, the musician
He discovered calligraphy at Koranic school, at the age of six, and never stopped. His compositions treat letters like movement, almost like music. He also leads calligraphy workshops for children.
5. Sadik Haddari, the sculptor
Originally from Rabat but nicknamed "the calligrapher of Asilah", Sadik Haddari works on paper, and also carves wood, giving the curves of Arabic letters a third dimension.
6. Lahcen Ferssaoui, the poet
Lahcen Ferssaoui brings poetry, image and writing together in compositions where the letter becomes a starting point for painting. See his page.
7. Mostafa Warrak, the abstractionist
In Mostafa Warrak's large paintings, calligraphic signs become pure gesture and colour. You feel the writing before you try to read it. See his large abstract calligraphic painting, available now, and his artist page.
Did you know? In the 10th century, Ibn Muqla, a vizier in Baghdad, codified the proportions of Arabic letters using the dot made by the tip of the reed pen as a unit of measurement.
Living with calligraphy
A calligraphic work is magical in an entrance, a living room or an office: from afar it reads as a composition, up close as writing. Browse our calligraphy selection and all available artworks, or see them in person at ARTWORKS in Casablanca.