Ikram Kabbaj was born in 1960 in Casablanca.
Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca and later at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, she has developed, since the late 1980s, a practice centred on sculpture, exhibited both in Morocco and internationally.
Her work explores the formal possibilities of matter through a research into volume, the balance of forms and their relationship to space. Between smooth surfaces and more organic textures, her sculptures develop an abstract language marked by a strong physical presence and a particular attention to the circulation of the viewer’s gaze and body around the work.
Alongside her personal practice, Ikram Kabbaj has worked for several decades towards the integration of sculpture into public space. She initiated and organised several international sculpture symposiums in El Jadida (2000), Tangier (2001), Fez (2002), Essaouira (2003), Taroudant (2011) and Asilah (2016), contributing to the creation of several open-air sculpture parks in Morocco.
Her works are held in several public and private collections, including the Société nationale des Autoroutes du Maroc, Emaar Properties (United Arab Emirates), the Stowe Sculpture Park (United States), Saham Bank (Morocco), Groupe Al Omrane (Morocco) and Groupe Diana Holding (Morocco).
Ikram Kabbaj lives and works between Casablanca and Marrakech.