Mohamed Melehi (b.1936, Asilah, Morocco, d. 2020, Paris) is widely regarded as a major figure of postcolonial Moroccan art and of transnational modernism. A graduate ofthe École des Beaux-Arts, Tétouan, Morocco, in 1955, he continued his studies abroad, learning fine art in Seville and Madrid, sculpture in Rome, and engraving in Paris.

In the early sixties, he travelled to the United States, where he studied at Columbia University (with a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation) for two years before returning to Morocco in 1964. It was during this time that Melehi began to explore his cultural heritage as a primary source of inspiration and started using a bolder, more brilliant colour palette.

In 1969, Melehi organized the first open-air group exhibition, held in Marrakech medina’s Jamaa el-Fna Square, in Morocco. Eliciting much acclaim from the public and art critics, this exhibition radicalized the country’s contemporary art scene.

Melehi was Professor of painting, sculpture and photography at the Casablanca School of Fine Arts from 1964 to 1969. In 1978, Melehi and Mohamed Benaissa created the Al Mouhit Cultural Association, a non-political organisation with purely cultural objectives. The result of this venture is the Asilah Cultural Moussem, an annual festival held every summer. A highlight of the festival is the mural painting event, first held in April 1978, a project which has revitalized the formerly dilapidated appearance of the artist’s birthplace. Asilah is now celebrated for its vividly coloured murals, many of which have been created by Melehi.

Reinstating the minimal spirit of his work of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Melehi's final flourish was his Moucharabieh series of paintings (2019-2020). These were shown exclusively at exhibitions with Lawrie Shabibi in Abu Dhabi Art (November 2019), Art Dubai (online -March 2020) and London (Cromwell Place, October 2020).