London: The enthusiastic response to Moroccan artist Touils’ first solo show with Maddox in May 2024 has led him to embark on a creative journey somewhere new. Set to be unveiled when Touils returns to our Berkeley Street gallery in February 2025, the Arabic Collection Arabic Collection highlights the artist’s continued love of travel and skill in portraying the essence and beauty of a culture.
Since relocating to Dubai from France in the summer of 2024, Touils has embraced his new world. Rich in cultural heritage, the Arabic lifestyle has been a revelation to the artist. A reminder that one of the main purposes of his practice is to take the viewer on a journey, his narrative-driven works paint a picture of a culturally rich environment that is deeply rooted in traditions.
Pearl Ritual, Bahrain, 2025 by Touils
Spanning landscapes and portraits of the Emirati people, Touils has been working with a different colour palette that brings a newfound strength and luminosity to his work. To capture the stark beauty of the desert, the pale stone of the mosques and the traditional kanduras worn by Emirati men, shades of white have become elemental to his paintings.
Mosque of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, 2025 by Touils
Touils’ artistic signature, covering the canvas with vertical white lines, is present throughout the Arabic Collection. “Adding these white lines brings so much volume to my paintings,” he explains. “Their interwoven quality reminds me of the rich tapestry of Arabic civilisation that stretches around the world.”
Arabian Horse, 2025 by Touils
The Arabic Collection can be viewed as a homecoming of sorts. An immersion into a way of life that, just a year ago, was just a fading memory for the artist, these new works bind Touils to both his homeland and his newfound home in Dubai while preserving the customs, ceremonies and traditions of Arabic culture that are at the core of his identity.
Al Sadu, Traditional Weaving, 2024 by Touils
Fishing During The Sunrise, 2025 by Touils
LOCATION: Maddox Gallery, 12 Berkeley Street, London, United Kingdom I DATES: Feb 20-Apr 4, 2025