Ateliers Zelij
Design by Samir Mazer
SAMIR MAZER
The artistic approach of zellige
“Preservation is not enough for a culture to stay alive, it must also be re-invented”
Samir Mazer is an artist who questions the art of zellige, glazed terracotta tiles.
Clay, earth excavated from the hills of Fez in Morocco, possesses a unique soul and energy. Drawing from this intimate connection, it is through sculpture, engraving, and modeling that he evokes the whisper and memory of his native land. His artistic approach is built with a distant perspective on his Moroccan heritage while maintaining its spiritual strength and unchanged techniques. Indeed, zellige is a sacred art that is highly codified and deeply linked to Islamic architecture. He then set out to deconstruct zellige in order to free himself from aesthetic codes and from being simply a support for history. In permanent connection with the sense of touch, ceramics becomes a bridge to a new sensitive understanding of earth. It is by sculpting clay and glaze that he suggests a new sacredness – revealing through each work a story imbued with a certain humility.
For Ateliers Zelij, Samir Mazer now develops more confidential work, In Situ, in order to put zellige in dialogue with a place, a space, or a moment.
In September 2024, he joined the Collection Latil network of excellence to create new synergies and develop his artistic approach through this exceptional material.
THE R&D STUDIO
Here is the English translation:
Cultivating our uniqueness and constantly challenging our creativity!
Our confidential Research & Development studio is nestled in the heart of Toulouse and directed by Samir Mazer.
Drawings, collages, folding, and molding are all means to study forms, dissect them, deform them, or modulate them like notes on sheet music. The nuances offered by zellige are a crucible for composing our chromatic universes, and the workshop is a true playground where hundreds of trials in puzzle form wait patiently in compartments.
A theater of unconventional experimentation, the workshop gives birth to new collections, unique pieces, and collaborations. In September 2025, Ateliers Zelij was distinguished for its approach with the Design Prize from the Arab World Institute, Contemporary Crafts category.
The workshop holds many other surprises. Please don’t hesitate to share your project with us for the creation of a unique piece.
Unique art work
An ode to contemplation
With a resolutely contemporary language, Samir Mazer thus breaks with codes without breaking with his culture and the traditional art work of zellige. On the contrary, it is a plea for freedom, a tribute to his identity and a great respect for the Master Craftsmen of Fes who assist him on these unique art work. Zellige goes beyond its decorative function to become a vector of artistic expression, a call to contemplation. With a sensitive gaze, a breach opens to bring a material beyond its function, its history and its culture.
IN SITU
Today, a new stage is opened, where this noble material is transcended through unique pieces, created in close connection with the intervention space, a real challenge for the viewer.
While the creations of Samir Mazer through the Zelij Workshops are standardized and ordered by decorators without knowing the final destination, Today, he wants to create a connection with space, light and culture.
Each project must be unique, with a personal dimension, making a real bridge between his Moroccan land and the place where the work is hosted. The zellige lives by light, earth and its skin; enamel. Deeply rooted in his native land, Samir Mazer draws inspiration from these landscapes to infuse his creations with a whisper of soul playing on the brightness and internal movement of the earth. With great humility, he does not create but interprets his environment using this living matter.
The monumental work installed in 2024 on the 22nd floor of the Royal Mansour in Casablanca entitled “L’Envol” attests to this approach. A repetition of 3 triangles symbolizes the architecture of the city, the muted hues recall the intoxicating perfumes of its medina, the composition evokes the renaissance of this iconic hotel.