The scholarly Islamic Art masterpieces of Ahmed Moustapha

by schusterassociates

Ahmed Moustapha – Scholar and Artist

It wasn’t difficult for us to know where to begin in introducing Contemporary Islamic Art.  There are many rivers leading from the hands of Contemporary Muslim Artists.  However, few are the Oceans that feed the rivers.  One man rightly fills the role of Islamic Art’s greatest living ocean.  The man who embodies everything in terms of understanding Islamic Art’s complex history, having an outstanding skill in Arabic penmanship and a penetrating intellect.

The grand scale of his work can only be appreciated at the Gallery.

Before the arrival of Ahmed Moustapha, contemporary Islamic Artists were indeed interesting, however they lacked a certain credibility of transmitting the traditional wealth of Islamic Civilisation.  Ahmed Moustapha immersed himself fully into the difficult labyrinths of Islamic Calligraphy’s pioneers, unlocking many of the doors hitherto closed.

We begin with his extraordinary work.  Where two Oceans meet. 1998.

 

The waving brilliance in the middle of the exhibition poster above,  is the painting that Ahmed Moustapha completed for a special commission for her Majesty the Queen.  The colours are subdued, yet vibrant.  The exacting mathematics of transposing the calligraphic verses from the Holy Qur’an is breathtaking.

Ahmed Moustafa pioneered a way of being true to the original rules of calligraphy, whilst employing contemporary infrastructures in his Art.

This is superbly illustrated in his oil painting from 1993.

 

Here, Ahmed Moustapha has chosen two verses of the Holy Qur’an (Verse 35 from Surah 24 and Verse 2 from Surah 3) to create a powerful moment in time and space.  The perspective is reminiscent of a room, yet the clouds soften and indicate something more indefinable.  Yet.  It’s a masterclass of calligraphy.   Unveiled at a time when none thought it possible, Ahmed Moustapha brought the world a completely new way of looking at Divine Script.

His foray into the spatial dimensions on Earth and its relationship between script, meaning, mathematics and the Divine Oneness has created tantalising boldness that stirs the imagination.  The strong bold oils on a fine watercolour base are perfectly executed with the finesse of a master gardener.  In every piece there is a mathematical harmony.  A Praise to the Oneness of God.   The effort and thought behind each piece is stunning.

This is best exemplified in the Attributes of Divine Perfection.

This beautifully piece, celebrating the Ninety Nine Attributes of God, was created from a cube that opens and unravels the mystery of the Prophetic Saying of a hundred minus one.  Here Ahmed Moustapha has stumbled, like a scientist-mathematician, upon a secret of the cube.  The cube – itself an important construct.  Its very archetype is in the Sacred Ka’ba, the centre of the Muslim world community and the converging space of the Monotheism of Abraham.

The genius of Ahmed Moustapha’s Attributes of Divine Perfection.

It begins with a perfect enclosed cube.

The cube is split mathematically.

The space itself opens.

We arrive at exactly a hundred minus one Names.

 The Artist is equally at home with the objects of nature as he is with the supra-natural.  We see this in the movement of his poetic Arabic.  To look upon his Art is to sit with him.  Every glance cast is a lesson in calligraphy.  A master class in the lecture hall of a dedicated and skilled spiritual Artist.

His frolicking horses express a love beyond time.

The falcon, an Arab symbol, cast in Arabic.

 Mathematical Harmony of his calligraphy.

Detail showing layered Arabic Calligraphy.

Vibrant colour that blends in all seasons.

Traditional, yet contemporary.

 | Summary Artist Biography of Ahmed Moustapha |

Ahmed Moustapha came to London to study for a PhD having excelled in the Fine Arts faculty ofAlexandria. However he quickly discovered that his talents didn’t stand out; for his form thus far was rooted in the Western tradition. He would later remark, “It was like I was offering them left-over food, or like I had cooked a typically English meal for them.”

A door opened in the soul of the young Muslim Artist. He realised that what he had originally thought had been creative Art had been nothing but an urge to excel in copying Western Art, perhaps from a position of cultural inferiority. He says, “Unfortunately, not only most of the Third World countries, but most of the Islamic nations, are just standing there with their eyes open with a big smile and fascinated by everything that comes from the West.”

Things began to change for him. Questions were raging, Ahmed Moustapha recalls, “All that I knew about Islam was the basics and that my name was Ahmed. It was like my whole identity was in a box and I never bothered to open it. I remember praying to God with the prayer, ‘Please God make my talent subservient to You.’ ”

And it seems his prayers have been answered. Ahmed Moustapha’s work is held in private and public collections throughout the entire world. He is the first Muslim Artist to have ever been exhibited at the Vatican, been exhibited at the British Museum, the Royal Academy, the Islamic Cultural Centre, the Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Royal College of Art in London; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; King’s College, Cambridge; the Grand Palais, Paris; the Plais des Congres, Montreus, Switzerland; the Musee Rath in Geneva; Al Ain University, UAE; and in many countries all over the world, including Pakistan and Egypt.

Born 1943, Alexandria

Moved to London, 1974

Established the Fenoon Research Centre, 1983

Commissioned by Her Majesty the Queen, 1997

Sotheby’s World Record $842 500,00 sale of Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy,  2010

Upcoming 2014 events:

Publication of The Cosmic Script: Sacred Geometry and the Science of Arabic Penmanship, September 2014

 

Ahmed Moustapha’s Fenoon Gallery is in London | http://www.fenoon.com

More detail on the cubes is accessible here | http://www.cubeofcubes.com