Celestial Blue Opens at October Gallery
October Gallery presents Celestial Blue, a solo exhibition of new works by the renowned artist Rachid Koraïchi.
Koraïchi was born in Algeria in 1947, and now lives and works between Tunisia and France. He studied at the Institute of Fine Arts and the Superior National School of the Arts in Algeria, before moving to France to continue his studies at the National School of Decorative Arts and the School of Urban Studies in Paris.
Koraïchi’s work extends across an impressive range of materials, which include ceramics, textiles, bronze, Corten steel, alabaster, print and etching on paper and paint on canvas. His work is influenced by a fascination with signs: symbols, glyphs and ciphers drawn from a variety of languages and cultures.
He has presented five solo exhibitions of his works at the October Gallery, amongst numerous group shows and external projects. In 2021, Rachid bought agricultural land in Tunisia to create a memorial resting place, Jardin d’Afrique, for migrants of all nationalities and religions who died crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better life. Celestial Blue sees Koraïchi’s distinctive journey continue in exploring the spiritual realm, emphasizing the essential message of tolerance for all. His artwork illustrates relevance of ancient traditions in contemporary times.
What was your inspiration for this exhibition?
I based my work on the love poems composed by the great 12th century Sufi mystic philosopher, Muhyiddin Ibn ’Arabi, born in Andalucia in southern Spain. On show here in London are fourteen works selected from this series, although there are sixty canvases in total.
While this great writer created them as love poems, they also express ideas that associate directly with the Quran, since the burning desire of which the poet speaks expresses a love that could also be interpreted as a longing for the Divine. It must be stressed that these are not representations of the Quran in any way. Instead, they reflect the complex associations that Ibn ’Arabi was able to inject to express his profound longing for a woman called Nizam (Harmony), who he encountered on his journeys and immortalised in his book, The Interpreter of Desires.
How does it feel to be back at October Gallery?
I never feel in any way distant from October Gallery. This is my home from home in London, and I never feel as though I’m not in residence. I frequently send images of where I am and what I’m working on through WhatsApp, so there’s a constant stream of communication in both directions.
For years now we have worked on many books and catalogues for my various shows both at home and abroad. Since I often travel to work with different artists and craftspeople, or attend exhibition openings, we often meet in person at various Art Fairs in Europe, the Middle East, and the States.
So, it’s an ongoing wandering adventure which manifests in many different places and makes me feel as though I never leave this unique and wonderful place.
Can you talk about some of the techniques used in creating these canvases?
I begin before a square sheet of blank whiteness, brush at the ready. Once my brush touches the surface, the characters, signs, glyphs, and ideas come pouring out and I follow along. Each symbol once inscribed calls into place the next one, until eventually the work is complete.
I never leave a finished work open in front of me, but I immediately roll it up and put it aside. This is so that the next work is entirely original from the start, with no influence carried over from the previous work. Only then can I take another blank sheet and begin the same process over again. Any single piece can take hours to complete, so it took many weeks to complete the whole series.
Celestial Blue is on display at October Gallery until April 13th, 2024
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