Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley is a British painter whose abstract compositions create optical movement through repeated lines, curves, shapes, and structured color.
Painter
Mohamed Melehi
Moroccan painter Mohamed Melehi helped shape modern abstraction with bold wave forms, using industrial lacquer, alkyd, acrylic, and oil in different works.
Mohamed Melehi quick facts
Melehi combined repeated wave motifs and spray-applied lacquer with Moroccan craft and architecture, making hard-edge abstract paintings with flat color.
| Full name | Mohamed Melehi |
|---|---|
| Born | November 12, 1936 · Asilah, Morocco |
| Died | October 28, 2020 · Paris, France |
| Nationality | Moroccan |
| Movements | Casablanca Art School and Moroccan modernism |
| Paint types | Industrial cellulose lacquer · Acrylic paint |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Painting board · Canvas · Linen · Wood |
| Painting methods | Spray-gun application, hard edges, repeated curves, and controlled flat color |
| Common subjects | Waves, repeated curves, color, geometric abstraction, and Moroccan visual traditions |
| Notable works | Rejected · Composition · Seduction |
Sources: Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: Seduction, Mathaf: Mohammed Melehi, Qatar Museums: Composition conservation, Barjeel Art Foundation: Cross A, and La Biennale di Venezia: Mohamed Melehi.
Paint types used by Mohamed Melehi
Melehi moved from acrylic on canvas to industrial cellulose paint on wood panels, applying the latter with a spray gun for a glossy surface.
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Cellulose lacquer paint
Melehi shifted to industrial cellulose paint on wooden panels; MoMA notes the glossy surface of Seduction (1975) comes from industrial paint applied with a spray gun. This lacquer coating produced a smooth finish for his hard-edged wave forms and is distinct from oil or alkyd paint.
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Acrylic paint
Melehi’s earlier acrylic paintings used a different binder and support: Qatar Museums identifies Composition (1968) as acrylic on linen canvas. Broad waves and repeated color bands turn the woven textile into a field for geometric rhythm, contrasting with the glossy lacquered wood panels of the 1970s.
Sources: MoMA: Seduction (1975), industrial paint applied with a spray gun; Dalloul Art Foundation: industrial cellulose paint on board in Melehi’s practice; Qatar Museums: Composition (1968), acrylic on linen canvas.
Painting surfaces used by Mohamed Melehi
Mohamed Melehi's documented works use painting board, canvas, linen; examples show how each surface carries paint or forms part of the work in context.
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Painting Board
Melehi’s work includes rigid painting boards used for selected compositions and studies. These supports carry carefully bounded color fields and repeated wave forms, distinct from his linen canvases and later wooden panels coated with industrial paint. These rigid supports are distinct from linen canvases.
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Canvas
Melehi also painted on canvas, including Qatar Museums’ Composition (1968), recorded as acrylic on linen canvas. The flexible textile carries his repeated wave motif and contrasts with the hard, glossy panels of his later spray-applied cellulose lacquer. The Qatar Museums record identifies linen as its ground.
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Linen
In Composition (1968), Qatar Museums records acrylic on linen canvas. The woven textile remains beneath the repeated wave forms, distinguishing this work from Melehi’s later use of smooth wooden panels and industrial lacquer. The work documents the textile support directly.
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Wood
Wood panels appear in Melehi’s painted works, including Seduction (1975), where MoMA notes industrial paint applied with a spray gun. The rigid support carries a glossy, hard-edged composition, different from the acrylic paintings on linen. MoMA records the painted wood panel and spray process.
Sources: Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: Seduction, Mathaf: Mohammed Melehi, Qatar Museums: Composition conservation, Barjeel Art Foundation: Cross A.
Painters similar to Mohamed Melehi
Melehi's waves connect him to painters exploring geometric rhythm and vivid color, while industrial coatings give his abstraction a material character.
Frank Stella
Frank Stella was an American artist whose abstract paintings moved from spare black stripes to shaped canvases and vividly colored constructions.