18: Jilali Gharbaoui – Untitled, 1955

Signed upper center “Gharbaoui 55”.

Jilali Gharbaoui’s Untitled (1955) is a major early work from one of Morocco’s most important abstract painters. The surface is a whirlwind of gestural energy — big, bold strokes of ochre, black and blue crashing into an emotional maelstrom. Gharbaoui doesn’t paint objects but sensations: the movement of thought, the turmoil of the spirit and the silent battle between chaos and control.

Oil on canvas, this piece shows Gharbaoui’s transition from figurative to lyrical abstraction, the language in which he would express the inner landscape of existence. The brushwork is both instinctive and structured — a rhythm of contrasts where density meets void and every mark is an act of liberation.

Made during his Paris years, Untitled (1955) is the dialogue between post-war European modernism and the artist’s North African sensibility. It’s a very personal and universal work — a painting that goes beyond geography to show emotion in its purest form, between despair and transcendence.

Private Collection, France.

Good vintage condition with some signs of wear. Unframed.

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