Rachid Ben Ali (born 1978,

Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

) is a controversial Moroccan-Dutch

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography and work

At the age of 15 he was sent by his parents to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He is an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

. Later he attended the Polytechnic of the Arts in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He lives and works in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2001 and 2003 he had shows in the Tanya Rumpff Gallery in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, the

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

and the

Wereldmuseum The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam (formerly known as the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde) is an ethnographic museum, situated at Willemskade in Rotterdam, the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in N ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

chose one of his paintings to introduce an exposition in the

. In 2003 he won the

KunstRAI KunstRAI is an annual art exhibition, art fair for modern and contemporary art held in spring or early summer at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. From 2006 to 2011 it ...

award for young artists, and in 2005 40 of his most recent paintings were shown at the Cobra Museum of Modern Art in

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 95,996 as of 202 ...

, near

. His work has triggered anger and threats from Islamist militants in the Netherlands. He went into hiding after death threats related to an exhibit showing "hate-imams" spitting bombs. Since then, he has required bodyguards, the cost of which are paid for by the Cobra Museum.

References

External links

Rachid's own site

(Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Rachid Ben 1978 births Dutch Muslims Living people People from Taza Moroccan male painters 21st-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters Moroccan emigrants to the Netherlands Moroccan contemporary artists 21st-century Moroccan painters