Farid Belkahia (1934 – 13 June 2014) was a Moroccan modernist painter, sculptor, and educator, noted for his role in the development of contemporary art in Morocco and for his leadership of the Casablanca School movement.
Early life and education
Born in Marrakesh, Morocco, Belkahia came from a family with artistic and intellectual interests. He pursued formal art training in Europe, studying at the École des Beaux‑Arts in Paris during the late 1950s. His education exposed him to Western modernist trends, which he later integrated with Moroccan artistic traditions.
Career
In 1962, Belkahia returned to Morocco and joined the faculty of the École des Beaux‑Arts de Casablanca (School of Fine Arts of Casablanca). He served as a professor and later as director of the institution, where he influenced a generation of Moroccan artists. Together with contemporaries such as Mohamed Melehi and Ahmed Cherkaoui, he helped establish the Casablanca School, an artistic movement that sought to create a modern Moroccan visual language rooted in local craft, materials, and cultural motifs.
Belkahia’s artwork is characterized by abstract compositions that incorporate traditional Moroccan materials, including leather, copper, and wood. He employed earth tones and gestural brushwork, often merging painting with sculptural elements. His works have been exhibited internationally, including at venues such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.
Later life and legacy
Belkahia continued to teach and produce art until his retirement in the early 1990s. He remained an influential figure in Moroccan cultural circles until his death in Rabat in 2014. Posthumously, his contributions have been recognized through retrospectives and inclusion in major museum collections, underscoring his role in shaping modern Moroccan art and fostering dialogue between Western modernism and North African artistic heritage.