Representing a clutch of firsts for Touils — his first solo exhibition; his first show in the UK; and his debut as a newly represented Maddox artist — the show explores themes of love, travel, peace, and tranquillity as it takes the viewer on a global journey of the places he dreams of travelling to.
Illuminating the white walls of our newest gallery in Mayfair, the artist manifests the sunshine of his home country of Morocco in his acid-bright colour palette, which is showcased in 21 created works. Travelling through the culture, countryside, and ceremonies of Japan, via a lover’s garden and a fiery forest in autumn, Touils paints light as a tapestry of brush strokes that instantly transport the viewer elsewhere.
A completely self-taught, self-made artist whose younger years were divided between Morocco and France, Touils’ challenging childhood has made him tough, resilient, and determined to turn the negative into a positive. From the age of six, he missed school to work and bring money into the household. Forced to leave everything he knew behind to go to France, he moved to Lille, aged 18. “When I was young, I received so much love, and that was taken away from me very suddenly,” says the artist. “I paint what I seek to get back: love, positive energy and light.”
Like the artist Claude Monet, his main source of inspiration, Touils eschews neutral hues in favour of explosions of vibrant colour. Dramatic and expressive, Cherry Rain on the Fushimi River is his first quadriptych — an artwork comprising four parts. It is a piece that he cherishes deeply, with the pinks and purples reflecting the serenity and romantic essence of the setting. Cleansing, physically and spiritually, water is the main protagonist, with a depiction of it hidden in all his works. The bridges that often appear are another important signifier for Touils, representative of his first steps into a life of art.
“Like Yayoi Kusama, who started painting as a form of therapy, Touils uses his art as a way to make peace with his past and carve a positive future for himself,” says Maeve Doyle, Artistic Director at Maddox. “A celebration of colour, you can feel the energy of his paintings. My mood immediately lifts when I look at them.”
‘True Colours’ opens on 10th May 2024 and runs until 9th June at Maddox Gallery, Berkeley Street, Mayfair.