Ahmed Moustafa

Born in 1947 in Alexandria, Egypt, Ahmed Moustafa studied Fine Arts at Alexandria University, after which he obtained an MA and PhD from the Central School of Art and Design in London, where he still lives and works. Moustafa is a practicing calligrapher and scholar who transforms sacred Qur'anic texts into works of art, combining their religious significance with a modern interpretation of the traditional script. Moustafa has reinterpreted the geometric principles of calligraphy, creating a new visual vocabulary.

Employing repetition and other painterly techniques such as incorporating the text into a representational image, Moustafa has been able to lend calligraphy to a more universal reception. Moustafa is known for incorporating a bold color palette into his work as well as his fluid and spontaneous penmanship. The artist engages with a wide range of media such as paintings, tapestries, silk-screen prints and stained glass. His work is held in many private and public collections, such as the National Museums in both Britain and Egypt, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the National Museum of Scotland.

Moustafa presently lives in London but spends most of his time teaching round the world.