Painter
Mohamed Hamri
Musicians in trance, village feasts, the streets of Tangier: Mohamed Hamri painted his Morocco with the freedom of a self-made artist who sat at the crossroads of the Rif and the Beat Generation.
The artist
Career
Born on 27 August 1932 in Joujouka, a village in the foothills of the Rif near Ksar el-Kebir, Mohamed Hamri was the son of a ceramist who decorated pottery in an ancestral tradition. As a teenager in Tangier after the Second World War he painted murals for the cafés of the colonial city. In the early 1950s he met Paul Bowles and then Brion Gysin, who became his mentor, introduced him to modern European painting and shared a first exhibition with him. With Gysin he opened the 1001 Nights restaurant in Tangier in 1954, where the musicians of his village played every night. He died on 29 August 2000 and is buried in Joujouka.
Between the village and the world
Oil on canvas and on wood, gouache, watercolour: Hamri moved freely between techniques. His subjects come from daily life, the city, the markets, the musicians of Joujouka and their rites. The influence of Nicolas de Staël is visible in his urban landscapes, built in coloured planes, yet he forged a personal language between figuration and abstraction. He also acted as a cultural go-between: he brought Brian Jones to Joujouka in 1968, and his painting illustrates the sleeve of “Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka”.
Landmarks
- Early 1950s — First exhibitions in Tangier, including at the Hotel Rembrandt, one of the first solo shows by a Moroccan painter in Morocco
- 1950s — Exhibitions in the Canary Islands, Madrid, New York, Düsseldorf and Berlin
- 1954 — Opens the 1001 Nights restaurant in Tangier with Brion Gysin
- 1971 — His painting appears on the album sleeve of “Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka”
- 1975 — Publishes “Tales of Joujouka”, which he wrote and illustrated (Capra Press)
- 1992 — “The Here to Go Show”, Dublin
- More than fifty exhibitions in Morocco, Tunisia, Spain, Lebanon, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland
- 2020 — “Hamri Revisited”, Tangier American Legation Museum
Do you own a work by Mohamed Hamri?
The gallery can examine it: request a valuation or consign it for sale at ARTWORKS in Casablanca. The authenticity of every work is checked before it is offered for sale; for a deceased artist, a certificate and provenance documents are required.
In the same spirit
Discover works by Hassan Hachchane, Mohamed Toumi and Abdelwahab Belkhayat, or browse all Moroccan paintings for sale.
Available works
No work by Mohamed Hamri is available right now. Leave your search request with the gallery, or follow the artist to hear as soon as the next ones arrive.
Frequently asked questions
How can one acquire a work by Mohamed Hamri?
No work by Mohamed Hamri is on offer at the moment. Leave your search request with the gallery (period, format, medium): you will be told first, and in confidence, if a work by the artist is entrusted to us, once its authenticity and provenance have been checked.
What is the price of a work by Mohamed Hamri?
No work is on offer at present. The price of a work depends on its period, format, medium, condition and provenance, so the gallery does not publish a general price for an artist; it will advise you on each work entrusted to it.
How is the authenticity of the works checked?
No work is offered without first being physically examined by the gallery. For a living artist, authenticity is confirmed directly with the artist; for a deceased artist, a certificate of authenticity and provenance documents are required. Our authenticity protocol
Can the works be delivered?
Yes: within 48 hours in Casablanca and Rabat, three to four days elsewhere in Morocco; international shipping is quoted on request. Payment is made on delivery, by bank transfer or by cheque.
Search request
Leave a
search request
Tell us the period, format or medium you are looking for in the work of Mohamed Hamri: the gallery will inform you first, and in confidence, if a work is entrusted to it.
Leave my requestOwn a work by Mohamed Hamri? Valuation and consignment →
Collecting with the gallery →