At the Mercy of Light: Exhibition by the Painter Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jelloun Unveils Unprecedented Exhibition at L’Atelier 21 in Casablanca
From January 27 to March 7, 2026, the renowned artist Tahar Ben Jelloun will transform the L’Atelier 21 art gallery in Casablanca with an unprecedented exhibition in Morocco. This showcase will feature a series of ten stained glass windows created from his paintings, along with a selection of canvases presented for this occasion.
As an acclaimed writer and painter, Tahar Ben Jelloun has dedicated many years to exploring the mystery of light in his work. It is only natural that he has turned to the art of stained glass, a medium that exists solely to capture light. The exhibition, titled “Au gré de la lumière” (In the Wake of Light), reveals a new dimension in Ben Jelloun’s work, where the act of painting flourishes in the transparency and brilliance of stained glass. This unique interaction forms a luminous language in which floating patterns and colors engage in dialogue, embodying a near-mystical quest for the enigma of light.
In the preface of the exhibition catalog, Ben Jelloun recalls the genesis of this project and his collaboration with master glassmaker Philippe Brissy, stating: “It was during a visit to the small church in the village of Le Thoureil, on the Loire, where I designed the patterns for stained glass windows, that Aziz Daki and Nadia Amor had the idea to leverage the wonderful talent of Philippe Brissy, based in Saumur. The goal was to transform some of my canvases into stained glass works. It took him a year of work to create the ten stained glass windows, which will be unveiled for the first time at L’Atelier 21. There is something magical here. The light, instinctively captured, illuminates transparent spaces where, in the background, the pure childhood with its intact soul emerges behind the signs.”
He continues, “These ten stained glass windows are living works. They require precise lighting, and in some cases, they invite the sky’s light to visit them, even if only fleetingly. As Louis Aragon wrote: ‘I explain the sun on the shoulder of thought.’ Let’s say that I explain nothing, but I believe in the sun as the star of secrets. Its lights are like inhabited silences, of which these stained glass windows are witnesses and friends.”
Born in 1947 in Fes, Tahar Ben Jelloun divides his time between Paris, Tangier, and Marrakech. His works have been included in numerous private and public collections, such as the Yannick and Ben Jakober Foundation (Spain), the San Salvatore In Lauro Museum (Italy), the Arab World Institute (France), and the Villa Harris, Tangier Museum (Morocco).
