Born in Tunisia in 1982, Maher Maaoui is a self-taught painter whose artistic journey began in childhood, influenced by his father, a craftsman of wooden games and toys. Relocating to France in 2004, Maaoui developed a practice deeply rooted in Mediterranean colors, exploring themes of memory, identity, and cultural legacy.
His work operates as a palimpsest, where layers of personal, historical, and cultural narratives intersect. This approach reflects the accumulation of experiences, erasures, and re-inscriptions, inviting viewers to uncover hidden meanings beneath the surface.
Maaoui’s art is also shaped by postcolonial and postmodern perspectives. He examines the impact of cultural displacement, globalization, and the hybridization of identities, reflecting on the tension between inherited traditions and contemporary transformations. His work transcends geographical and temporal boundaries, addressing universal questions about belonging and renewal.
His two main series, Decryption and Suddenly, embody this vision. In Decryption, photographic and video imagery disintegrates into abstraction as the artist surrenders to the creative process, exploring the boundaries of memory and perception. Meanwhile, Suddenly captures raw, spontaneous emotions, with forms and figures emerging fortuitously through the interference of consciousness. This dynamic interplay between control and instinct shapes Maaoui’s creative identity.
Merging oil and acrylic painting, experimenting with mixed techniques and media, and decrypting digital imagery at a microscopic level like an archaeologist, Maaoui constructs a multidisciplinary practice that resonates globally. His work has been exhibited in Paris, Tunis, São Paulo, Venice, Abu Dhabi, and Tokyo, and is part of private and institutional collections, including the Fondation de la Maison de Tunisie in Paris.
Salon Comparaisons 2023
Latest shows :
November 2024 - Abu Dhabi Art, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. For Any inquiry please contact Khawla Art Gallery https://www.khawlaartgallery.com/contact
May 2024 - La Mémoire, un continent, Safia Farhat Museum, Radès, Tunisia
March 2024 - MENA Art Now, Khawla Art Gallery, Dubai
February 2024 – Salon Comparaisons-Art Capital Metaphore Group with painter Moreno Pincas, Grand Palais Ephémère, Paris
June 2023 – Ateliers Portes Ouvertes, Paris 15 City Hall, Centre Culturel Foranim
May 2023 - 6 Regards, Cité de la Culture, Tunis
February 2023 – Salon Comparaisons-Art Capital Metaphore Group with painter Moreno Pincas, Grand Palais Ephémère, Paris
22th of Sept. to 22th of Oct. 2022 – Artcité fair reuniting 104 artists in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Maison du citoyen et de la Vie Associative www.art-cite.fr
June 2022 – Ateliers Portes Ouvertes, Paris 15 City Hall, Centre Culturel Foranim
February 2022 – Salon Comparaisons-Art Capital Metaphore Group with painter Moreno Pincas, Grand Palais Ephémère, Paris
June 2021 – Ateliers Portes Ouvertes, Paris 15 City Hall, Centre Culturel Foranim
October 2020 – Inside/Outside, collective show, La La Lande Gallery, Paris
November 2019 – ST-Art Strasbourg, La La Lande Gallery
Gazette Drouot : selected work « Sunset in Skiathos », acrylique, 100x100cm for the illustration of the event
May 2019 - Homogeneus (13 artists), Institut Français de Tunisie, Tunis / La La Lande Gallery, Paris #Kapitalis #ideomagazine #tunisie.co
June 2018 - 1480Km (12 artists), La La Lande Gallery, Paris
June 2018 - Solo show, retrospective, Centre Culturel Foranim, Paris
Previous exhibitions :
UH5, Nuits des Arts (5 artists), Roubaix
Art Capital, Salon des Artistes Français, Grand Palais, Paris
Art Actuel France / Japon, National Art Center, Tokyo
First Solo Show, Retrospective, Centre Culturel Foranim, Paris
Salon d’Automne de Paris, Champs Elysées, Paris
Art Capital, Salon du Dessin et Peinture à l’Eau, Grand Palais, Paris
Salao de Outono da America Latina, Galeria Marta Traba Do Memorial Da America Latina, Sao Paulo, Brésil
Biennale d’art contemporain SAI-Sarria, Abadia de Samos, Spain
Amis du Salon d’Automne de Paris, Galerie Béatrice Bellat, Montmartre, Paris
Salon International de Vittel - Art’East, Palais des Congrès de Vittel
Salon de Versailles, Carré à la Farine, Versailles
Awards and publications :
2021 - First artwork to join the permanent collection of an institution, Portrait of Jellal Ben Abdallah to be permanently exhibited at La Fondation de la Maison de Tunisie, Pavillon H. Bourguiba
2016 - Selection for the Master Class of Painting at Palazzo Zenobio, with Austrian painter Lois Renner in Venice and appeared in the catalog « 100 artists of tomorrow series 2016 »
2015 - Painting medal at the 15Oth Salon de Versailles, France
First Solo Show
Foreword
I believe that resistance and indignation all together with spiritual path and dreams and taste of aesthetics and beauty can be converted into an absolute creative equivalent energy, in a same artwork, where ideas, emotions and sensations, whether mild or violent can coexist and leave room for the mystery that emanates from all the contrasts they create without locking the viewer into an ideology or a marketing concept.
If I am moved by geopolitical issues, violence towards minorities, injustice or environmental concerns, the intensity of my feelings will naturally be transcribed while painting a sunset or a look at a face that pierces my heart on the street, as well as when I marvel at a fresh and juicy fig or in front of any other amazing creature from nature.
