Elmarsa Gallery in Dubai is currently hosting An Ode to Intertwined Histories, a solo exhibition by esteemed Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi. It presents his most important artworks that demonstrate the complexity and depth of his storytelling as well as his desires and apt abilities for narration. One will be able to attend the show until the 25th of May, 2024.
In his practice, Koraïchi, who considers writing sacred and charged with meaning, focuses on exploring texts’ function, aesthetics, and cultural significance. Aiming to reveal the profound inner secrets of texts, he often references texts by celebrated mystic poets and writers (for instance, Rûmî, Ibn Arabi, Attar, and Rabia Al Adawya) in his artworks. The artist has also collaborated with several contemporary poets and authors, such as Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Algerian author Mohammed Dib, French-Algerian poet and author Jamel Eddine Bencheikh, French poet René Char, Canadian-born author Nancy Huston, and French poet and novelist Michel Butor.

About the artist
Rachid Koraïchi (b. 1947, Ain Beida, Algeria), who lives and works between Tunisia and France, studied calligraphy at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Algiers, from which he graduated in 1971. After that, he moved to Paris (France), where he attended the Superior National School of the Decorative Arts and the School of Urban Studies. It was followed by studying at the Superior School of Arts.
Koraichi’s practice deploys painting, installation, printmaking, etching, sculpting, and collaborating with local artisans; he works with multiple diverse materials such as, for example, ceramics, textiles, metals (bronze and Corten steel), and alabaster. Taking cues from his Sufi heritage, the artist is fascinated with signs — symbols, glyphs, and cyphers — drawn from multiple calligraphic traditions: from Chinese ideograms to pre-Islamic Berber and Tuareg art forms. In his art, which can be regarded as an extension of prayer and divine reverence, Koraïchi explores the interconnections between metaphysics, spirituality, and aesthetics.

Koraïchi has headed numerous solo exhibits: Le Chant de l’Ardent Désir (Aicon Gallery, New York, USA, 2022); Tears that Taste of the Sea (October Gallery, London, UK, 2021); This Long Journey into your Gaze (Casa Árabe, Madrid and Casa Árabe, Córdoba, Spain, 2019); Rachid Koraïchi: Les Ancêtres liés aux Étoiles (A2Z Art Gallery, Paris, France, 2017); and others. The group shows in which the artist has taken part include Abu Dhabi Art 2022; Contemporary Ceramic Art from the Middle East (Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2021); Between the Sun and the Moon, Lahore Biennale 02 (Lahore Museum, Lahore, Pakistan, 2020); and Art Basel Hong Kong (Aicon Gallery, Hong Kong, 2018), to mention a few.

Koraïchi is a recipient of such awards as the Prix Institut de France (Fondation Prince Louis de Polignac, Paris, 2013) and The Jameel Prize (V&A, London, 2011). His artworks have become part of many public collections, for example, the Museum of Modern Art of Paris, Museum of Modern Art of Cairo (Egypt), British Museum (London), Museum Voor Volkenkunde in Rotterdam (The Netherlands), and Jordan National Gallery in Amman.
To learn more about An Ode to Intertwined Histories, please visit the exhibition’s official web page.
You might also be interested in attending Charts for a Resurrection by Dima Srouji.