About this event
Following an earlier presentation in Casablanca, Ilyas Selfati’s “Papers Blooming in a Forest” is on view at Villa des Arts de Rabat from 11 August to 30 September 2026. The exhibition takes Henri Matisse’s 1912 stay in Tangier as a historical point of departure rather than a model to imitate. Selfati turns that memory into a contemporary visual field shaped by painting, drawing, colour and unstable forms.
The window becomes a recurring motif: a threshold between retreat and openness, perception and introspection. Animal-like figures and interior landscapes give the exhibition a distinctive visual language, while the project asks what painting can still offer in a world marked by crisis and standardisation.
An opening event is scheduled for 10 September at 7 pm. Visitors planning a cultural stay in Morocco can explore the Villa des Arts de Rabat, the Rabat cultural guide and more upcoming events in Morocco.
Official source: Villa des Arts / Fondation Al Mada.
The window becomes a recurring motif: a threshold between retreat and openness, perception and introspection. Animal-like figures and interior landscapes give the exhibition a distinctive visual language, while the project asks what painting can still offer in a world marked by crisis and standardisation.
An opening event is scheduled for 10 September at 7 pm. Visitors planning a cultural stay in Morocco can explore the Villa des Arts de Rabat, the Rabat cultural guide and more upcoming events in Morocco.
Official source: Villa des Arts / Fondation Al Mada.
