Tahar Ben Jelloun’s ‘Au gré de la lumière’ exhibition held in Casablanca

CASABLANCA - Renowned Moroccan writer and artist Tahar Ben Jelloun held Tuesday a solo exhibition “Au gré de la lumière.” at L’Atelier 21 in the economic capital city of Casablanca.

Ben Jelloun has for many years developed a body of work driven by an ongoing reflection on light, of which stained glass appears here as a natural and unprecedented extension.

Presented for the first time in Morocco, the exhibition brings together a series of ten stained-glass works created from the artist’s paintings, alongside a selection of canvases shown on this occasion. Stained glass occupies a central place in this project, chosen for its ability to capture and allow light to circulate.

Ben Jelloun discussed the origins of this project and his collaboration with master glassmaker Philippe Brissy. 

“It was while visiting the small church in the village of Le Thoureil, on the Loire, where I had drawn the cartoons for stained glass windows, that the people at L’Atelier 21 had the idea to take advantage of Philippe Brissy’s wonderful talent, a master glassmaker based in Saumur, and transform some of my canvases into stained glass works,” Ben Jelloun said.

Produced in collaboration with master glassmaker Philippe Brissy, based in Saumur, these works required a full year of work. They are conceived as living works, designed to be illuminated with precision and, in certain cases, to receive natural daylight. Filigree motifs, persistent colours, particularly shades of blue—and signs emerge through the transparency of the glass.

In his text, Tahar Ben Jelloun refers to a light connected to childhood, memory, the sea, and the cities that have shaped his life, notably Fez and Tangier. He explains that he does not seek to explain this light, but rather to believe in the sun as “the star of the secret,” and in its lights as “inhabited silences,” of which these stained-glass works bear witness.

The exhibition is being held from January 27 to February 7.