Mohamed Lekleti Taza, b. 1965

The work of Mohamed Lekleti (born in Taza, Morocco, he lives and works in Montpellier, France) has focused on our complex world and the human diversity through drawing and painting, merging cultural and social otherness. His work addresses humanity as a complex and imperfect fabric, seeking to reconcile differences in a quest for universal understanding.

Mohamed Lekleti studied cinema at the University of Montpellier and obtained a master's degree in visual arts at the Faculty of Aix-en-Provence. In 2011, he was the laureate of the contemporary drawing fair in Paris and has since established himself as one of the emblematic artists of contemporary drawing in France and Morocco. In 2012, he exhibited at the Pinacoteca of the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin (INAC). In 2013, he developed a project around the notion of borders « visa pour un territoire » (visa for a territory) presented at the Fortress of Salses (national monuments of France) and at the Marrakech Biennial. In 2016, he exhibited at the Espace d'art Dominique Bagouet in Montpellier invited by curator Michel Enrici (art critic, former director of the Maeght Foundation and administrator of the Van Gogh Foundation), then at the biennial of the Panacée Art Center/MOCCO Museum Montpellier, curated by Nicolas Bouriaud, in 2021. His works have been presented in numerous exhibitions, including at the Musée d'art contemporain-MAC-Lyon, Musée de la banque Al Maghreb, A-cent-mètres-du-centre-du-monde art centre, L'aspirateur art centre in Narbonne, Institut Supérieur des Beaux-arts in Besançon, Paul Valéry Museum in Sète, and Frissiras Museum in Athens. He regularly participates in contemporary art fairs in France and abroad, such as Art Dubai, Drawing Now, Art Paris, Volta Basel, 1.54 Art Fair Marrakech/London/New York, Art on Paper Brussels. Mohamed Lekleti works also in public spaces focussing on in-situ installations, performances as well as on ephemeral contextual art and public commissions in France and abroad such as for the Night of Museums in Germany, the city of Sète, the city of Carcassonne (in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts), the city of Lodève (Fleury Museum), Valence... His works can be found in numerous private and public collections in France and abroad, including the Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), Musée d'art contemporain-MAC-Lyon, Detroit Institute of Arts Museum USA, Institut du Monde Arabe-IMA (Paris), Frissiras Museum (Athens), Paul Valéry Museum (Sète), Al Quatan Foundation (London/Palestine), Blachère Foundation (France/Senegal), Kamel Lazaar Foundation (Tunisia), Société Générale Foundation (Morocco), À-cent-metres-du-centre-du-monde Contemporary Art Centre (France), MACAAL Museum (Morocco), Occitanie Region Fund (France), MACMA Museum (Marrakech), The Royal Collection (Kingdom of Morocco), Collector Art (France), Claude Lemand Collection (France), Palace Saadi Collection (Marrakech), Mohamed VI Museum Rabat (Morocco), Agadir Art Museum (Morocco).