Rachid Koraïchi: Ecstatic Flow

Organisation: October Gallery

Time: 11 June 2010 12:30pm - 10 July 2010 5:30pm

Place: October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AL

October Gallery Presents:

Rachid Koraïchi

Ecstatic Flow

Rachid Koraïchi’s refined work perfectly exemplifies this quest to embody a complex spiritual vision by means of works on paper of exquisite subtlety and imagination.

The work of Koraïchi, a Sufi by familial practice, is explicitly devoted to the expression of the mystical elements of the Islamic tradition. The central theme of Ecstatic Flow relates to the lives and teachings of fourteen Sufi masters dating from the 7th to the 17th Centuries, presenting fourteen sets of seven lithographs, one for each of the subjects treated. The subjects include such well-known figures as the mystic Ibn El Arabi and the poet and traveller Jalaluddin Rumi, as well as lesser-known (in the west) masters like Ahmad al Tijani. This latter was a member of the Khalwati order of Sufism (also known as the Halveti in Turkey), which places emphasis on good actions and intentions rather than the requirements of elaborate ritual expression. Al-Tijani was the founder of the Tijaniya Order in North Africa, in the late eighteenth century, which extended the borders of Islam towards Senegal and Nigeria as later adepts introduced large West African kingdoms to their practices.

The title, Ecstatic Flow, comes from the Arabic word fa’-ya’-dad, which literally means “to overflow”, “to flood” or “to emanate”, and suggests an urgent outward movement, implying also ideas of exuberance and superabundance. It is used to describe the feelings of the awakened heart in the presence of the divine, an ecstatic feeling of connection, which overflows the containing limits of the human vessel. It could also describe the feelings of the artist in the full flow of creative inspiration as he seeks to put down on paper the torrent of visionary images that comes pouring into his mind.

Koraïchi’s artistic explorations extend across an impressive range of different media, with his installations including ceramics, textiles, various metals and painted work on silk and paper. His work is influenced by an abiding fascination with signs and symbols of all kinds, both real and imaginary. Beginning with the intricate beauties of the Arabic calligraphic scripts the work is composed of symbols, glyphs and ciphers drawn from a wide variety of other languages and cultures. Whether the source be the numerological insights of ancient cultures or the ideogrammatic shapes of Chinese characters, Koraïchi integrates these layered systems of signs into an organised and marvellous description of the world that surrounds us.

11th June to 10th July 2010
(Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday 12.30 - 5.30pm)

October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AL

Admission Free

Contact October Gallery on:
T: 020 7242 7367
W: www.octobergallery.co.uk

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Born in Ain Beida, Algeria in 1947, Rachid Koraïchi now lives and works in Paris, France. His artistic training includes diplomas from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Algeria, the Superior National School of the Arts, the National School of Decorative Arts, and the School of Urban Studies in Paris.

Koraïchi works with many media, including ceramics, textiles, poetry, calligraphy, and paint. Born to a Sufi family in Ain Beida, Algeria, his work is intimately informed by the numerology, signs and ethos of Sufi mysticism. He was recently included in the international touring exhibition 'Short Century', and in the 47th and 49th Venice Biennale. Part of his installation, 'Path of Roses', comprising embroidered silk textiles, steel sculptures, roses and Turkish ceramics was recently aquired by the British Museum.

Concerned with the Islamic concept of Safar (travel and transcendence), the installation traces the journey of medieval Muslim traveller Jalal Al Din Al Rumi across the Mediterranean to meet the Sufi mystic and poet Ibn El Arabi.

While his aesthetics are deeply rooted in his multicultural Algerian heritage, Koraïchi is a truly cosmopolitan artist who speaks to a global audience. He has participated in many international exhibitions and his work is included in several major private and public collections worldwide. 

IMAGE ABOVE: Rachid Koraïchi - Sidi Boumediene series, VII, 2009, Lithograph, 62 x 40 cm (1 of a set of 7prints +1 print )