ASCC brings ‘inventor of abstract calligraphy’ to Kuwait

Centre to host retrospective exhibition ‘Awj’ by artist Nja Mahdaoui

KUWAIT CITY, June 2: The Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre is pleased to be hosting the retrospective exhibition ‘Awj’ by Nja Mahdaouian internationally known artist known for contemporary art and calligraphy. The opening reception will take place on June 6, to be followed by a talk by Mahdaoui. The exhibition will be on display at the Fine Arts Centre until September 2018.

Awj offers a rare dialogue among works of art dating back to different periods- since 1966 to present. The retrospective invites guests to explore how encounters and events during Mahdaoui’s life have played a role in the evolution of his visual language. He has received a number of distinctions and international awards, and displayed around the world.

Over the course of the exhibition, temporalities are juxtaposed and the extraordinary plasticity of Arabic letter emerges, in terms of both meaning, as well as potentiality. In Mahdaoui’s work, calligraphy does not signify as much as it invites the viewer to explore the blank spaces between the letters to extrapolate meaning through the aid of his or her imagination. His ‘calligrams’ are inspired by Arabic calligraphy, but are devoid of actual textual meaning, in order to stress the visual impact of his compositions.

Born in 1937 in Tunisia, Nja Mahdaoui attended the Academia Santa

Artist Nja Mahdaoui

Andrea in Rome and the École du Louvre in Paris, where he also pursued further training at the Cité Internationale des Arts. Famous for his detail-oriented work in ink on parchment, he is believed to be ‘an explorer of signs’ and a ‘choreographer of letters’.

Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre was developed by the Office of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait with the vision of delivering world-class exhibitions and public educational programmes to the people of Kuwait. The Centre is working to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and the development of critical and creative skills as well as interpretive thinking.