RAFIK EL KAMEL (1944-2021)
Painter of the pure line and the sensitive — between Tunis and Paris, a free and luminous trajectory
Born in 1944 in Tunis, Rafik El Kamel established himself as one of the prominent figures of the contemporary Tunisian art scene. A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis in 1966, he belongs to this pioneering generation which, in the wake of independence, embodied the visual renewal and cultural opening of the 1960s.
He continued his artistic training at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where he stayed from 1967 to 1971. It was during this period that his work moved towards a more purified expression, marked by formal rigor, the sobriety of the gesture, and a deep attachment to light as a pictorial substance.
Born in 1944 in Tunis, Rafik El Kamel established himself as one of the prominent figures of the contemporary Tunisian art scene. A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Tunis in 1966, he belongs to this pioneering generation which, in the wake of independence, embodied the visual renewal and cultural opening of the 1960s.
He continued his artistic training at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where he stayed from 1967 to 1971. It was during this period that his work moved towards a more purified expression, marked by formal rigor, the sobriety of the gesture, and a deep attachment to light as a pictorial substance.
Upon his return to Tunis, he taught at the École des Beaux-Arts, helping to train new generations of artists while pursuing a regular exhibition career on an international scale. From 1966, his works were featured in salons and galleries in Tunis, Paris, and beyond: Salon de Mai in Paris, Biennale des jeunes artistes in 1977, group exhibitions in Europe, the Maghreb, and the Arab world. In 2002, his work was presented at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris as part of the exhibition Perspectives on Contemporary Arab Art.
His work, both meditative and rigorous, has been rewarded on several occasions. In 1984, he received the First Prize of the City of Tunis as well as the First Prize of the annual contemporary art exhibition in Tunis.
Through a silent yet inhabited painting, Rafik El Kamel has built, for several decades, a pictorial language that touches the essential, far from the noise and fleeting trends.
His work, both meditative and rigorous, has been rewarded on several occasions. In 1984, he received the First Prize of the City of Tunis as well as the First Prize of the annual contemporary art exhibition in Tunis.
Through a silent yet inhabited painting, Rafik El Kamel has built, for several decades, a pictorial language that touches the essential, far from the noise and fleeting trends.
Exhibitions
