Margaux Derhy

Margaux Derhy

Gloria, Femme Forteresse (Gloria, Female Fortress)

hand embroidery and sewing machine on linen

130 by 100 cm. 51 1/8 by 39 3/8 in.

Executed in 2024.

In these compelling textile works, Margaux Derhy, a French-Moroccan artist who was born in Paris and trained as a painter at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art in London, transforms family photographs into contemporary embroidered art. Now based in Massa, southern Morocco, where she has returned to her family's roots, she works with ten women in her studio to reinterpret these intimate archives through embroidery.

These pieces emerge from a unique collaborative practice where women who previously had no employment opportunities have been trained in sophisticated embroidery techniques by the artist. What appears at first glance as painting reveals itself as entirely rendered in thread. The first work depicts a figure on roller skates, drawn from family photographs taken before their migration to France, creating an intriguing dialogue between personal history and contemporary artistic expression.

The embroidery's extraordinary precision, achieved through the skilled hands, creates subtle gradations of color and texture that rival painted surfaces. The second piece, showing two figures in purple dresses, further explores these themes of memory and return through embroidery's narrative possibilities. The blank faces, a signature element in Derhy's work, redirect attention to posture, clothing, and spatial relationships, speaking to broader questions of identity and belonging in contemporary Middle Eastern and North African art.

These works emerge from a practice that is both aesthetically innovative and socially transformative. The studio of Margaux Derhy provides sustainable income for women who previously had limited economic opportunities, while elevating traditional craft to fine art. Through this ambitious fusion of social engagement and artistic innovation, Derhy and the women of her studio are contributing to an emerging aesthetic that resonates both locally and in the global contemporary art world.

Her work has been exhibited at prestigious venues and art fairs including 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech and London, AKAA (Also Known As Africa) and Menart Fair in Paris. Upcoming presentations include Abu Dhabi Art Fair with Tabari Artspace. Her work has gained significant recognition, featured in prominent publications including the Financial Times, AD Middle East, and Beaux Arts Magazine.

Tabari Artspace, Dubai