The paintings and drawings by the Dutch-Moroccan artist Rachid Ben Ali 'explode'. His energy and drive literally splatter off the canvas. His images are confrontational, mirroring the violence and chaos of the time we live in: the aggression, the fear, the despair, the sorrow and the injustice. Rachid began drawing when he was three years old, drawing is his language and his medium, and this later evolved into painting. In 2000, Queen Betrix selected him for her exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and in 2003 he won the award for most promising young artist at the KunstRai. The work of Rachid Ben Ali is very rich in images. You can 'read' them by experiencing the paintings and especially the small drawings that are present throughout his work with an open mind and an open heart, and by letting them sink in. Everything seems to have a meaning. Nothing is for nothing. Text in English MDutch. ILLUSTRATIONS 80 colour *
