Art Exhibition in Fez

Belgian architect Mathy Engelen is in Fez this week to draw, paint and mount his new exhibition at Cafe Clock. The View from Fez takes a look.

Mathy just loves travelling. This is his sixth visit to Morocco, and he lists visits to Palestine, Israel, China, Spain and Italy as favourite destinations. Wherever he finds himself, he paints the local architecture. He explains that his technique is to first draw in pencil, in situ. He then works in ink and prints 100 copies of his work on aquarelle paper, to which he applies watercolours. This makes each work unique.

He has around 60 different paintings of places in Morocco - he has spent time in Marrakech, the Valley of the Roses, Essaouira and Fez. Next on the list is El Jadida and, perhaps, Tangier and Chefchaouen. Fortunately for Mathy, there are plenty of cheap flights from Belgium to various locations in Morocco. He's just been appointed honorary cultural ambassador for his town of Lanaken for 2010.

Matthy's work in Palestine resulted in some 70 paintings, some of which have been reproduced as postcards. Proceeds from the sale of these help Palestinian refugees.

There's a wide variety of art available here - from the postcard to small reproductions of the finished works, prints in sepia, and the watercolours themselves.

What Matthy enjoys most about his work is being able to sit outside, perhaps at a cafe table, drawing the buildings around him. People are curious about what he's doing, stop to talk, and he's suddenly got some new friends.


The exhibition opens at 18h30 on Saturday 13 March at Cafe Clock and runs until 16 May, and everyone's invited. Catch Mathy working at the Clock this week.