Galerie Elmarsa, Tunis (June 28 - July 19, 2018) Solo Show ‘Shadow Architectures… Oratories of Light…’ by Khaled Ben Slimane

Khaled Ben Slimane, 2018, Acrylic on Arches paper, 100x70 cm / Courtesy of El Marsa Gallery and the artist

Khaled Ben Slimane is a well-known contemporary Tunisian artist. Painter and ceramist for nearly four decades, he has acquired a real mastery of the trade in contact with various ceramic traditions such as Tunisian vernacular ceramics, Spanish ceramics and the art of the great Japanese masters. Through an abundance of signs, symbols, imprints and calligrams, his artistic approach reveals a unifying awareness constantly reminding the invocation, thus detaching himself from the material reality of the present era. The work of Khaled Ben Slimane is based on an intense inner life dedicated to spirituality and inspired by calligraphy to appropriate sacred expressions such as "Ya Latif" (O You Benevolent) or "Huwa" (Him).

Khaled Ben Slimane, 2017, Acrylic on Arches paper, 114x113 cm / Courtesy of El Marsa Gallery and the artist

Khaled Ben Slimane's work is architectural in its form. The elements pile up and stick together, while its colours fade or intensify. The work is slowly constructed as a material and spiritual building dedicated to universality. Through it, the artist monitors the genesis of dazzled shapes, unusual creations, thus revealing his many reflections: the intuitions of the man of signs, the impetus of the inspired calligrapher, the ceramist's know-how and the reveries of the designer of so many imaginary architectures; his entire work is wrapped in a veil of apparent melancholy – the translation or reflection of a disillusioned gaze that the artist, witness of his time, casts on the contradictions of contemporary reality.

Khaled Ben Slimane, 2018, Ceramics, 35.5x31.5x11 cm / Courtesy of El Marsa Gallery and the artist

Khaled Ben Slimane, 2018, Ceramics, 36x34x13 cm / Courtesy of El Marsa Gallery and the artist

But the universe of Slimane is, above all, a space of light, where the hope resound; where the form tries to free itself from its material confinement to reach out to the plenitude of the spirit. The artist, between fear and hope, raises his prayers and paints the states of a soul in search of salvation, as witnessed by this magnificent piece, vibrant with fervour, dubbed 'Most Beautiful Names of God' (Asma'ullahi-l-housna).

Khaled Ben Slimane, 2017, Acrylic on Arches paper, 100x70 cm / Courtesy of El Marsa Gallery and the artist

Founded in 1994 in Tunis, the El Marsa Gallery's mission is to promote modern and contemporary art in North Africa. Based on a diversified and ambitious program, through major exhibitions, cultural events and international fairs, notably in Dubai, Paris and New York, the gallery works to bring interest in art by supporting the immense potential of Tunisian artists and to develop their visibility on an international scale.