Painter, Visual Artist
· Born in 1937
- Tunisia
Nja Mahdaoui
Nja Mahdaoui
Tunisia
Major figure of Arab modern art, Nja Mahdaoui is a multimedia visual artist.
Recognized internationally and known as the 'choreographer of letters', he played a pioneering role in the development of calligraphic abstraction. Deeply rooted in the Arab-Islamic culture, Mahdaoui transcends Arabic calligraphy into a visual and abstract contemporary art form to create a universal platform for intercultural dialogue and shared consciousness. Ever expanding his calligraphic language, his singular approach allowed him to express the intrinsic, infinite aesthetic qualities of Arabic letters and continues to inspire generations of artists.
Spanning more than six decades, Mahdaoui’s relentless passion for research has driven him to experiment with an extraordinary range of media, from works on parchment and canvas to large-scale installations in major public spaces. His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions and is represented in numerous private and public collections.
Recognized internationally and known as the 'choreographer of letters', he played a pioneering role in the development of calligraphic abstraction. Deeply rooted in the Arab-Islamic culture, Mahdaoui transcends Arabic calligraphy into a visual and abstract contemporary art form to create a universal platform for intercultural dialogue and shared consciousness. Ever expanding his calligraphic language, his singular approach allowed him to express the intrinsic, infinite aesthetic qualities of Arabic letters and continues to inspire generations of artists.
Spanning more than six decades, Mahdaoui’s relentless passion for research has driven him to experiment with an extraordinary range of media, from works on parchment and canvas to large-scale installations in major public spaces. His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions and is represented in numerous private and public collections.
- Nationality
- Tunisia
- Born
- 1937
- Mediums
- Painter, Visual Artist
Global Art Awards- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Medal of Honour, Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
National Order of Cultural Merit, awarded by the Ministry of Culture - Tunisia
UNESCO great prize for Artcrafts in the Arab world - Tunis, Tunisia
Great Prize for Arts and Letters, awarded by the Ministry of Culture - Tunisia
Jury Member, UNESCO International Arts Prize 1993-1995- Paris, France
Gibellina Gold Medal - Sicily, Italy
National Order of Cultural Merit, awarded by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture - Tunisia
‘Douroub’ — Installation of 20 Drums, featured in ‘Des Musiques et des Mondes’ as part of the new scenography for the permanent collection of the Musée de la Musique / Philharmonie de Paris - Paris, France
Nja Mahdaoui: The Choreographer of Letters / Bassam Freiha Art Foundation - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Collaboration with Maison Guerlain for the 'Absolus d’Orient' 2023 Collection, bridging East & West by crafting a visual echo to Guerlain's fragrant tribute to the East / Guerlain - Paris, France
The Rhythm of Calligraphy and Oud, live performance with Naseer Shamma, produced by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre / Louvre - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Jafr - The Alchemy of Signs / Elmarsa Gallery - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Window mural designs for Facebook Artist in Residence Program, Facebook’s on-site art initiative. / Facebook Menlo Park Headquarters - Palo Alto, California, United States
AWJ: a retrospective exhibition from 1966 to 2018 / Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre - Kuwait, Kuwait
Trance. / Elmarsa Gallery - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Wasl / Rafia Gallery - Damascus, Syria
Commissioned by the KAUST International Art Program to create exclusive graphemes for the Campus Mosque / King Abdullah University of Science and Technology - Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Wajd / Bait Muzna Gallery, - Muscat, Oman
Nja Mahdaoui / Meem Gallery - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Winning project of the international competition for the external designs of 4 aircrafts to mark the Gulf Air 50th Anniversary / Gulf Air - Manama, Bahrain
A Choreographer of Letters, curated by Rose Issa / Leighton House Museum - London, United Kingdom
Poésie du Signe, Poésie du Geste: Michèle Drouin et Nja Mahdaoui, / Centre d'Exposition de Baie-Saint-Paul - Quebec, Canada
guest of Honour at the second Havana Biennial / Centro de Arte - Havana, Cuba
Pour une esthétique du signe / Centre d’Art Vivant - Tunis, Tunisia
L’Image de l’autre / UZH – Universität Zürich and ETH Zürich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Zurich, Switzerland
Sweeter than Honey: A panorama of Written Art / Pinakothek Der Moderne - Munich, Germany
Roots and Modernity: Contemporary Mediterranean Arab Art / Sharjah Art Museum - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Présences arabes: Art moderne et décolonisation. Paris 1908-1988 / Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris - Paris, France
Lettrisme artistique en Tunisie : éclosion et évolution / MACAM - Tunis, Tunisia
The Future of Traditions - Writing Pictures: Contemporary Art From the Middle East, produced by Rose Issa Porjects / Brunei Gallery SOAS, University of London - London, United Kingdom
Alif Lam Ra: Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy / Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Arabic Music Days / Pierre Boulez Saal - Berlin, Germany
Calligraphie & Lettrisme - Calligraphie, Mémoire partagée, Patrimoine vivant et Art pluriel, XVIIIème Sommet de la Francophonie de Djerba / Musée Lalla Hadria - Djerba, Tunisia
Pushing paper: Contemporary drawing from 1970 to now / The British Museum - London, United Kingdom
Al Musiqa: Voices and Music of the Arab World / Philarmonie de Paris, Cité de la Musique - Paris, France
8th Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial / Sharjah - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Lettres Ouvertes: From Calligraphy to Street Art / Institut des Cultures de l'Islam - Paris, France
Jury Member and Guest of honour at the sixth Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial / Sharjah Calligraphy Museum - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Khatt and After, Modern and Contemporary Calligraphy, highlights from Mathaf's permanent collection / Katara Cultural Village - Doha, Qatar
Symbiosis of Two Worlds, curated by Heinz Kroehl and produced by the Written Art Foundation / Palais Namaskar - Marrakesh, Morocco
Nun wa al Qalam, Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy / Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Crossing the Line / Tashkeel Gallery - Duba, United Arab Emirates
Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East / Sundaram Tagore Gallery - New York and Hong Kong, United States
Freedom and Innovation: Contemporary Arab Calligraphy / Casa Árabe - Madrid, Cordoba, Spain
Re-Orientations: Contemporary Arab Representations, curated by Rose Issa for the Arab Week / European Parliament - Brussels, Belgium
Perspectives: Arab & Iranian Modern Masters / Saatchi Gallery - London, United Kingdom
Artistes Arabes entre Italie et Maghreb / Galerie Nationale Bab Rouah - Rabat, Morocco
Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art / Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art - Doha, Qatar
Taswir, Islamische Bildwelten und Moderne / Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum - Berlin, Germany
International Exhibition of Calligraphy II / Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy - Moscow, Russia
Treasures of the World's Cultures - British Museum, travelling exhibition (2009-2012) / Canal de Isabel II; Royal British Columbia Museum; Kunst & Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland; Manarat Al Saadiyat Gallery - Madrid; Victoria, Canada; Bonn; Abu Dhabi, Spain
Dance of Pen and Ink: Contemporary Art of the Middle East / The State Hermitage Museum - Saint Petersburg, Russia
Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, Guest of honour and jury member / Sharjah Calligraphy Museum - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East / The British Museum - London, United Kingdom
L'art du livre arabe: du manuscrit au livre d'artiste / Bibliothèque nationale - Paris, France
Signs, Traces and Calligraphy: Five Contemporary Artists from North Africa / Travelling exhibition: Barbican Art Centre; Tropenmuseum; Images of Africa '96 festival - London; Amsterdam; Copenhagen, United Kingdom
Contemporary Arab Signs, curated by Nja Mahdaoui and produced by the Arab League for Expo '92 / EXPO - Seville, Spain
Tendances de la peinture contemporaine au Maghreb / Travelling exhibition - Tunis; Casablanca; Algiers; Tripoli; and Nouakchott, Tunisia
Nunatak: Young Painters’ Symposium in Canada, Guest Artist / Baie-Saint-Paul Art Centre - Quebec, Canada
Six Contemporary Tunisian Painters / Travelling exhibition: LaM, Museum of Modern Art and the National Museum of African and Oceanian Arts - Villeneuve-d’Ascq; Paris, France
Tracce arabe in italia, produced by the Arab League / Travelling exhibition: Palazzo Venezia, Rome and Museo Civico, Gibellina - Rome, Italy
Écritures dans la peinture / Villa Arson CNAC (Centre national d'art contemporain) - Nice, France
L'abstraction dans la peinture tunisienne / Centre National d'Art Vivant - Tunis, Tunisia
Le mouvement de la calligraphie Arabe / Art Basel - Basel, Switzerland
Nja Mahdaoui and Shaker Hassan Al Said: Pour une esthétique du signe calligraphique dans l'art contemporain arabe / Maison de la Culture Ibn Rachiq - Tunis, Tunisia
18 Peintres Tunisiens, second Rencontres Internationales d'Art Contemporain, / Galeries nationales du Grand Palais - Paris, France
"Artists of the Middle East: 1900 to Now"- Saeb Eigner, Thames & Hudson
“Masterpieces of Modern and Contemporary Art from the Farjam Collection"- The Farjam Collection, Yale University Press
"Alif Lam Ra: Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy" - Edited by Dr. Heba Nayel Barakat, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
"Arabicity - Contemporary Arab Art" - Edited by Rose Issa and Juliet Cestar,
"Arabic Hurufiyya. Art and Identity" - Charbel Dagher, Skira Editore
"Nja Mahdaoui: Jafr. The Alchemy of Signs" - Monograph, Skira Editore
" Nun wa al Qalam, Contemorary Muslim Calligraphy from the IAMM Collections" - Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
"The Art of Writing. Bilder werden geschrieben" - Heinz Kroehl, Kehrer
"Arabesque: Graphic Design from the Arab World and Persia" - Die Gestalten Verlag
"Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East" - Venetia Porter, DIFC, Dubai
"La aventura del Cálamo: Historia, formas y artistas de la caligrafía árabe" - José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, Edilux Granada,
"Modern Arab Art. Formation of Arab Aesthetics" - Nada M. Shabout, University Press of Florida
"Le Maître d'amour" - Rodrigo de Zayas, Éditions Albin Michel
"Les ouvriers du signe, calligraphie en culture musulmane" - Valère-Marie Marchand, ACR Éditions
"L’art du livre arabe: du manuscrit au livre d’artiste" - Marie-Geneviève Guesdon et Annie Vernay-Nouri, Bibliothèque nationale de France
"La Volupté d'en mourir"- Jamel Eddine Ben Cheikh, Éditions Alternatives
"Marateb Al ‘Ishq" - Raja Alem and Nja Mahdaoui, Simpact
"Who’s Who in Graphic Design" - Benteli-Werd Verlags AG
"Nja Mahdaoui"- Monograph, Cérès Productions
Bibliothèque nationale de France - Réserve des Livres Rares, France
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Cuba
Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy, Russia
Dalloul Art Foundation, Lebanon
Meta Open Arts, Menlo Park HQ, California, United States
Fondazione Orestiadi, Italy
IMA - Institut du Monde Arabe, France
IAMM - Islamic Art Museum of Malaysia , Malaysia
Japan Foundation, Japan
Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Jordan
KAUST University, Saudi Arabia
Klingspor Museum, Germany
LaM - Lille Métropole Musée d'art moderne, d'art contemporain et d'art brut, France
Macam: National Museum of Modern Art, Tunisia
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar
Musée d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada
National Art Gallery - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
National Museum of African Arts – Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States
National Museums of Scotland, United Kingdom
O Art Museum, Japan
RAK Art Foundation, Bahrain
SAMoCA , Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia
Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Germany
The Al-Mansouria Foundation, Saudi Arabia
The Arab Fund, Kuwait
The Barjeel Foundation, United Arab Emirates
The British Museum, United Kingdom
The Dubai Collection, United Arab Emirates
The Farjam Foundation, United Arab Emirates
Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates
Vakıfbank Collection, Türkiye
Written Art Collection, Germany
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