Muhannad Shon

Muhannad Shono is a Saudi artist who grew up amid questions of origin and belonging.

He was raised in Saudi Arabia by Circassian migrant parents. His practice is driven by an inquiry into narrative and the systems of thought that bind human perception to rigid, singular doctrines. He examines how social and ideological constructs harden into uncompromising mono-narratives – structures that constrain meaning and limit multiplicity. His practice is rooted in a palimpsest of continual change, poised on the line between memory and imagined futures. Form, sense, and narrative remain infinite, timeless yet timely – mindful of the mortality of the past and the boundless endurance of the imagination.

Shono is the recipient of the 2021-2022 National Cultural Award in Visual Arts, Saudi Arabia, and was awarded French Order of Arts and Letters at the rank of Knight in 2024. His monograph Muhannad Shono. Works [2014-2024] is published by Kehrer Verlag (2024). He holds a BA in Architecture from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (2000). He represented Saudi Arabia at the 59th Venice Biennale with The Teaching Tree (2022), and has participated in the Sea Art Festival, Busan (2023); Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah (2023); Noor Riyadh Festival (2023 and 2022); 6th Lyon Biennale (2022); Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Riyadh (2021); and Desert X, Al Ula (2020). He has exhibited at Louvre Abu Dhabi (2023); British Museum, London (2021 and 2018); Al Khuzam Historical Palace, Jeddah (2019); GAM Sculpture Garden, Torino (2019); Ithra, Dammam (2019); Kunstverein Wolfsburg (2019); MACBA, Barcelona (2018); and Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2017), among others. His work is collected by the British Museum, London; the Art Jameel Foundation, Dubai; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Ithra Art Centre, Dammam; The Black Gold Museum, Riyadh; and Al-Mansouria Foundation, Riyadh.

As part of the inaugural exhibition Hikmah, Muhannad Shono will present Tower for a Single Breath, a new
commission developed through the CCA’s residency programme.

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