White Cube has announced the global representation of Alia Ahmad (b.1996, Riyadh).
Ahmad’s new painting, Shore (2024), will be on view at the gallery’s booth during Frieze London, while Finood Branches of a tree 2 (2024) will be debuted at Art Basel Paris. A solo exhibition of her work will open at White Cube Mason’s Yard, London, in February 2025.
Ahmad’s vibrant and expressionistic paintings draw inspiration from her memories and observations of her native Riyadh. Informed by local textiles, poetry, calligraphy and the diversity of the surrounding desert landscape and plant life, the artist aligns her practice with traditional Bedouin perceptions of time, rejecting the four-season meteorological model in favour of localised observations of weather, vegetation and pasture.
Having studied Digital Culture at King’s College London, prior to her master’s at the Royal College of Art, Ahmad’s work is also influenced by the heightened colour and flattened perspectives characteristic of digital graphics. While rooted in her Saudi heritage, her practice reflects ideas of change, adaptation and belonging.
Ahmad participated in Riyadh’s 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. In the spring of 2024, her first solo exhibition with the gallery was held at White Cube Paris, following her 2023 participation in the gallery’s online exhibition programme as part of the group show ‘In the Shadow’, curated by Hannah Gruy, Director, Artist Liaison, White Cube.
Hannah Gruy said:
We are thrilled to represent Alia Ahmad, the first artist to join White Cube from the Arab Gulf region. Ahmad employs a distinct Fauvist palette to create lyrical depictions of her surroundings, whilst addressing important themes across industrialisation and the environment. I am excited that, following two very successful collaborations with Alia over the past year, we’ll be showing the latest developments in her painting practice at two major European fairs this autumn, followed by a solo show in London next spring.
About the artist
Alia Ahmad (b.1996) lives and works in Riyadh. Ahmad received a BA in Digital Culture from King’s College London in 2018 and a Master of Research in Fine Arts from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2020. Recent solo exhibitions include Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai (2024); Albion Jeune, London (2024); White Cube, Paris (2024); Massimo de Carlo, Paris (2023); Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, California (2022); Hafez Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2022); and Gallery Bawa, Kuwait City (2021). Group exhibitions include NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2024); Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Saudi Arabia (2024); White Cube (online) (2023); Matthew Brown, Los Angeles, California (2023); Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, Texas (2023); CICA Vancouver, Canada (2023); Hayy Jameel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2022); Fenaa Al Awwal, Riyadh (2022); 21,39, Jeddah Arts, Saudi Arabia (2021); and Design Museum, London (2020), among others.
