Mohamed MelehiMoroccan1936-2020Untitled (Arc)
signed and dated 1969 (on the reverse) acrylic on canvas90 by 110cm., 35⅜ by 43¼in.Condition reportColour:Please note colours in the online catalogue illustration may vary depending on screen settings.
The work appears to be in good condition. The canvas is slightly loose on the stretcher. Networks of very light surface cracking throughout, all of which appear stable. Cracking is most visible within the right-hand side. Light central stretcher bar impression lines visible running vertically across the centre of the work. There are also two associated protrusions to the canvas in the lower centre of the work. Minor wear to the corners. There is a brown liquid residue stain on the reverse, largely along the edges. White paint patches to the upper left corner/edge; possibly inherent. Inspection under UV light reveals no clear signs of restoration or repair.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceCollection of the former New England Center for Contemporary Art (NECCA), Brooklyn, ConnecticutBoston, Skinner, American & European Works of Art - 2581B, February 03 2012, Lot 693, sold to benefit the Temple Beth Israel and St. James Catholic Church, both of Danielson, ConnecticutAcquired from the above sale by the Biebuyck Family CollectionCatalogue noteExecuted in 1969, Untitled (Arc) and African Wave III, are two examples of works produced off the back of what is arguably one of Mohamed Melehi’s most seminal artistic periods: his New York years. In 1962, Melehi travelled to the United States to take up the position of Assistant Professor in the painting department at Minneapolis Institute of Art. After one semester, a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation facilitated the artist’s move to New York to study at Columbia University. It was in New York, through constant experimentation and adaptation, that Melehi’s intrinsic style began. In these two short years, surrounded by the growing Abstract Expressionist and Colour Field Painting movements, the artist would lay the groundwork for a lifetime of success as a leading modernist painter.
The undulating waves that have come to be his trademark motif, and would feature in many variations throughout his practice, made their first appearance in New York in a work from 1963 simply titled New York. The New York paintings were more mature compared to those Melehi painted previously in Europe – he had moved to Europe from Morocco in 1955 to study fine art – his lines and forms became brighter, clearer and smoother, a reference to the work of Franck Stella or Jasper Johns who both heavily influenced young Melehi. Melehi’s innovation in New York established his name in the US and culminated in the inclusion of his works in two influential group shows in 1963, the Hard Edge and Geometric Painting and Sculpture exhibition at MoMA and Formalists at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art.
For Melehi, the rhythmic wave carries a multitude of meaning and is at once personal and universal. Having grown up in the seaside town of Asilah, the waves reminded Melehi of his childhood but are also a clear reference to Islamic and Berber art. The wave, both abstract and representational, is symbolic of our existence and the cosmic forces at play in our lives.Melehi says, in 1968, just one year before completing the present lots:
'Conscious of the fact that I needed to represent Africa —too huge of a task, really—I wanted to create a form that, while traditional (the wave appears in all African art), while new (it is structurally modern), symbolizes a determined situation: despite its bloodthirsty, metallic, and programmed oppression, the dynamic spirit of this continent (its ‘SOUL’) rises up forcefully towards the sky.'The Artist, 1968
Both Untitled (Arc) and African Wave III where produced shortly after Melehi returned to Morocco and during his last year as a teacher at the Casablanca School of Fine Art (1964-1969). It was there, alongside colleagues such as Farid Belkahia that he founded the famed Casablanca School. The foundation of the Casablanca School allowed Melehi to take a radical new approach to the Moroccan art scene and Moroccan society. Together, they turned away from Western influence, instead fusing Moroccan and Berber crafts with modernist architecture.
Melehi returned to New York some 20 years after his initial departure for his landmark exhibition Melehi, Recent Paintings at the Bronx Museum in 1984. As the first large-scale solo exhibition in the US for an artist from North Africa, this projected Melehi to a Modern master with universal appeal.
Melehi’s oeuvre constitutes an amalgamation of his global outlook, Islamic motifs and the cultural richness of Moroccan-Berber crafts to create a truly postmodern aesthetic.
Mohamed MelehiMoroccan1936-2020Untitled (Arc)
signed and dated 1969 (on the reverse) acrylic on canvas90 by 110cm., 35⅜ by 43¼in.Condition reportColour:Please note colours in the online catalogue illustration may vary depending on screen settings.
The work appears to be in good condition. The canvas is slightly loose on the stretcher. Networks of very light surface cracking throughout, all of which appear stable. Cracking is most visible within the right-hand side. Light central stretcher bar impression lines visible running vertically across the centre of the work. There are also two associated protrusions to the canvas in the lower centre of the work. Minor wear to the corners. There is a brown liquid residue stain on the reverse, largely along the edges. White paint patches to the upper left corner/edge; possibly inherent. Inspection under UV light reveals no clear signs of restoration or repair.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceCollection of the former New England Center for Contemporary Art (NECCA), Brooklyn, ConnecticutBoston, Skinner, American & European Works of Art - 2581B, February 03 2012, Lot 693, sold to benefit the Temple Beth Israel and St. James Catholic Church, both of Danielson, ConnecticutAcquired from the above sale by the Biebuyck Family CollectionCatalogue noteExecuted in 1969, Untitled (Arc) and African Wave III, are two examples of works produced off the back of what is arguably one of Mohamed Melehi’s most seminal artistic periods: his New York years. In 1962, Melehi travelled to the United States to take up the position of Assistant Professor in the painting department at Minneapolis Institute of Art. After one semester, a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation facilitated the artist’s move to New York to study at Columbia University. It was in New York, through constant experimentation and adaptation, that Melehi’s intrinsic style began. In these two short years, surrounded by the growing Abstract Expressionist and Colour Field Painting movements, the artist would lay the groundwork for a lifetime of success as a leading modernist painter.
The undulating waves that have come to be his trademark motif, and would feature in many variations throughout his practice, made their first appearance in New York in a work from 1963 simply titled New York. The New York paintings were more mature compared to those Melehi painted previously in Europe – he had moved to Europe from Morocco in 1955 to study fine art – his lines and forms became brighter, clearer and smoother, a reference to the work of Franck Stella or Jasper Johns who both heavily influenced young Melehi. Melehi’s innovation in New York established his name in the US and culminated in the inclusion of his works in two influential group shows in 1963, the Hard Edge and Geometric Painting and Sculpture exhibition at MoMA and Formalists at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art.
For Melehi, the rhythmic wave carries a multitude of meaning and is at once personal and universal. Having grown up in the seaside town of Asilah, the waves reminded Melehi of his childhood but are also a clear reference to Islamic and Berber art. The wave, both abstract and representational, is symbolic of our existence and the cosmic forces at play in our lives.Melehi says, in 1968, just one year before completing the present lots:
'Conscious of the fact that I needed to represent Africa —too huge of a task, really—I wanted to create a form that, while traditional (the wave appears in all African art), while new (it is structurally modern), symbolizes a determined situation: despite its bloodthirsty, metallic, and programmed oppression, the dynamic spirit of this continent (its ‘SOUL’) rises up forcefully towards the sky.'The Artist, 1968
Both Untitled (Arc) and African Wave III where produced shortly after Melehi returned to Morocco and during his last year as a teacher at the Casablanca School of Fine Art (1964-1969). It was there, alongside colleagues such as Farid Belkahia that he founded the famed Casablanca School. The foundation of the Casablanca School allowed Melehi to take a radical new approach to the Moroccan art scene and Moroccan society. Together, they turned away from Western influence, instead fusing Moroccan and Berber crafts with modernist architecture.
Melehi returned to New York some 20 years after his initial departure for his landmark exhibition Melehi, Recent Paintings at the Bronx Museum in 1984. As the first large-scale solo exhibition in the US for an artist from North Africa, this projected Melehi to a Modern master with universal appeal.
Melehi’s oeuvre constitutes an amalgamation of his global outlook, Islamic motifs and the cultural richness of Moroccan-Berber crafts to create a truly postmodern aesthetic.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
