Larbi Cherkaoui was born in Marrakech in 1972.
Larbi Cherkaoui is a laureate of the Centre Pédagogique Régional de la ville ocre and holds a diploma in plastic arts. Originally a calligrapher, Larbi Cherkaoui has kept his passion for calligraphy intact, even when he has given it a plastic rhythm in his paintings.
Skin is the artist's preferred medium. Some of his recent works are “puzzles” or “small rectangles covered in skin”, which the artist dyes with henna to create modern compositions.
The artist's work has been hailed by art critics including Jean-François Clément, who writes: “Larbi Cherkaoui is a master at mixing genres. He accumulates experience and constantly increases his mastery of techniques. There's an inner necessity that drives him to evolve, never using the same concepts.” He adds: “The calligrapher can never be overwhelmed by the words he writes. He always retains a freedom that expresses itself through gesture, when the latter begins to distance itself from its mere mechanical memory to become a creative memory.”
His work has been included in numerous public and private collections, including the Musée d'art contemporain de Tunis (Tunisia), the Musée d'Archéologie de Silves (Portugal), the ONA Foundation (Morocco), the Bank Al Maghrib (Morocco), the Société Générale (Morocco), the Royal Mansour (Morocco) and La Mamounia (Morocco).
Larbi Cherkaoui lives and works in Marrakech.