Safaa Erruas Moroccan , b. 1976
Biography
Meditative abstractions of visceral objects, the works are meticulously produced in a ritualistic process that involves repetition and, at times, physical risks due the sharpness of materials. They explore ideas of the body, borders, and the constant permeability between the private and collective inner and outer spheres.
Erruas’s latest works on paper invent new cartographies, subtly contrasting sensibilities and textures. The cotton paper is stripped, pierced, aggregated, or pleated in rhythmic compositions that oppose fluidity to moments of rupture. Pointed elements of polished metal delicately capture the light, accompanying its variation along the day, conveying notions of time and motion.
In her installations, the artist similarly uses the contrast between soft and sharp materials, monochromia, and the repetition of delicate elements on a big scale. She builds stories about resilience and fragility using formal strategies such as: suspension of forms, layered transparencies, light reflection, sometimes adding resin to her usual materials.
Safaa Erruas’ work is in major institutional Moroccan art collections. She participated in two important survey exhibitions: “Moroccan Trilogy” at the Museum Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (2021) and “The Other Story” at the Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, the Netherlands (2022). Her work was featured in the Biennials of Rabat, Dakar, Havana, and Alexandria. It was included in exhibitions around the world , among others at: Institut du Monde Arabe, Palais de Tokyo, both in Paris; Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE ; Museo D’Arte Contemporaneo de Castille et León (MUSAC) and Centro Atlantico d’Arte Moderna (CAAM), Las Palmas, Spain; MOCADA NYC, USA, Galleri Flach, Stockholm & Moderna Musset Malmö in Sweden and the The Norval Foundation in Cape Town.
Works
Art Fairs
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1-54 Contemporary Africain Art Fairs, London 2024
Freya Bamble-Carter, Safaa Erruas, Emo de Medeiros, Eman Ali, Mbaye Babacar Diouf, Temandrota 10 - 13 Oct 2024Read more -
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London 2022
Mbaye Babacar Diouf, Safaa Erruas, Onyis Martin 13 - 17 Oct 202250 Golborne is pleased to be presenting the work of three artists for this year's 10th Anniversary of 1-54 Art Fair. Our showcase includes Safaa Erruas, Mbaye Babacar Diouf, and...Read more -
Artissima Art Fair, Turin 2021
Willie Cole, Safaa Erruas, Sanaa Gateja, Emo de Medeiros, Ranti Bam 5 - 7 Nov 2021Read more -
1-54 Contemporary African Art fair, London 2021
Larry Amponsah, Sanaa Gateja, Emo de Medeiros, Safaa Erruas 14 - 17 Oct 2021Read more -
Artissima Art Fair, Turin 2020
Fatoumata Diabaté, Sanaa Gateja, Safaa Erruas, Willie Cole, Larry Amponsah 3 - 5 Nov 2020Read more -
1-54 Contemporary Afrian Art Fair, London 2020
Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, Eman Ali, Ranti Bam, Safaa Erruas, Larry Amponsah 7 - 9 Oct 2020Read more -
1-54 Contemporary African Art fair, NY 2020
Eman Ali, Safaa Erruas 4 - 6 May 2020Read more -
Collect, London 2020
Balla Niang, Ranti Bam, Sanaa Gateja 27 Feb - 1 Mar 2020Read more -
1-54 Contemporary Art Fair, London 2019
Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Safaa Erruas, Larry Amponsah, Williw Cole, Ranti Bam 3 - 6 Oct 2019Read more
Exhibitions
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State Of Flux
Works On Paper by Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Olalekan Jeyifous, Safaa Erruas & Gregory Olympio 11 Jul - 16 Aug 2019Read more -
Home Inside Out
27 Mar - 18 May 2019Safaa Erruas's work explores ideas of the body and borders through the meditative abstraction of visceral objects. In order to navigate notions of visibility and multiplicity through materiality, the artist often contrasts distinct sensibilities, materials, and textures. Senses of fragility and softness (cotton, paper, skin) can be found in tension with moments of resistance and sharpness (needles, wire, glass). Through the use of these highly personal and tactile materials, Erruas has developed a strong visual language whereby a process of ritual, repetition, and fragmentation creates minimalist yet loaded poetic gestures. The physical and conceptual aesthetics of the colour white, transparency, and silence serve as a foundation for Erruas’s work to communicate clashing ideas of fragility and violence alongside life and death, all at once subtle and strong.Read more
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