Draft:Muhannad Shono
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Muhannad Shono (Arabic: مهند شونو; born 1977, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) is a Saudi artist and curator, known for his multidisciplinary practice, which includes installation, drawing[1], painting, and sculpture, often incorporating robotic elements.[2][3] His work explores themes of memory, identity, and the power of narrative, with a recurring interest in notions of the "natural." Shono represented Saudi Arabia at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022) with the large-scale installation The Teaching Tree.[4]
Early Life and Education
[edit]Muhannad Shono was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1977. His parents, both Circassians whose families had fled Stalin’s persecution of ethnic and religious minorities in the Russian Caucasus, were born in Damascus, Syria. The father is of Chechen origin, and the mother is Karachay. Both settled in Muhajreen, where they met and got married. They immigrated to Saudi Arabia in 1974. Shono is their eldest son. He has a brother and a sister.
Shono earned a BA in Architecture from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran in 2000.[2]
Career
[edit]Muhannad Shono’s artistic practice investigates the persistence of ideas and the power of imagination to shape reality.[5][6] His work has been exhibited internationally, often examining the intersections of personal history and collective memory.
His 2022 installation, The Teaching Tree, presented at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022), symbolized the resilience of creative thought, using over 10,000 palm fronds and robotic elements to create a breathing, evolving form. The work was curated by Reem Fadda for the Saudi Pavilion.[4] His piece The Lost Path (2020)[7] was part of Desert X AlUla, exploring mythological landscapes and the tension between presence and absence.
He is currently living and working in Riyadh, running Studio SHONO at JAX District, Diriyah, and working as the contemporary art curator for the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 in Jeddah.[8]
Awards and Honors
[edit]2021-2022 National Cultural Award in Visual Arts, Saudi Arabia[9]
2024 French Order of Arts and Letters at the rank of Knight[10]
Selected Exhibitions
[edit]Biennales
2023 Letters in Light (Lines we Write), The Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[11]
2022 The Teaching Tree, The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia, la Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Reem Fadda.[4]
2022 After the Fall, 6th Lyon Biennale, Lyon, France.[12]
2021 On Losing Meaning, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[13]
2020-21 BIENALSUR, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay.[14]
Solo exhibitions
2019 The Silence Is Still Talking, Athr, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curated by Rahul Gudipudi.[15]
2016 Children of Yam, Athr, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[16]
Group exhibitions (Selected)
2025 Desert X, Palm Spring, California, USA.[17]
2024 On Losing Meaning, Forest Festival of the Arts, Okayama, Japan.[18]
2024 The Ground Day Breaks, Poetic Illuminations, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Curated by Diana Wechsler.[19]
2023 And to Flounder in This Sea Is Sweet to Me, Sea Art Festival, Busan, South Korea.[20]
2023 The Unseen, Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE.[21]
2022 I See You Brightest in the Dark, Noor Riyadh Festival, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[22]
2022 A Song of Silence, commission for Parcours Art Basel.[23]
2022 On This Sacred Day, AlUla, Saudi Arabia.[24]
2020 The Last Garden of Al-Khidr, I Love You Urgently, 21,39 Jeddah Arts, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curated by Maya El Khalil.[25]
2020 The Lost Path, Desert X, Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. Curated by Raneem Farsi, Aya Aliriza & Neville Wakefield.[7]
2019 The Caliph Seeks Asylum, Site-Specific Installation for the GAM Sculpture Garden, Torino, Italy.[26]
2019 Spiritual & digital, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany.[27]
2018 Albukhary Foundation Gallery, British Museum, London, UK. Curated by Venetia Porter.
2018 In The Open Or In Stealth, MACBA, Barcelona, Spain. Curated by RAQS Media Collective.[28]
2018 Al AShirah, The Clocks Are Striking Thirteen, Athr gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[29]
2017 Living Ideas, UNPUBLISHED – artistic observations, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Zurich, Switzerland.[30]
2017 After the Wildly Improbable, HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany. Curated by Adania Shibli.[31]
2017 The Fifth Sun, Safar, 21,39 Jeddah Arts, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Curated by Sam Bardaouil & Till Fellrath.[32]
The Silent Press, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France.[34]
Approaching Stillness, The Black Gold Museum, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Wall, The British Museum, London, UK.
The Book of Al, The Art Jameel Foundation, Dubai, UAE.
The Unseen, Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE.
A Forgotten Place, Alserkal Advisory, Dubai, UAE.[35]
Publications
[edit]2024 Muhannad Shono. Works [2014-2024], Kehrer Verlag[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Malbert, Roger; Gilman, Claire (2023). Drawing in the Present Tense. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc. ISBN 978-0-500-29493-2.
- ^ a b c Shono, Muhannad, Hala Auji, Todd Reisz, and Alison Sperling. Muhannad Shono: Works [2014-2024]. Kehrer Verlag, 2024.
- ^ Proctor, Rebecca Anne; Al-Senussi, Alia (2023). Art in Saudi Arabia: a new creative economy?. Hot Topics in the Art World. London: Lund Humphries in association with Sotheby's Institute of Art. ISBN 978-1-84822-639-5.
- ^ a b c Shono, Muhannad, Reem Fadda. The Teaching Tree. Saudi Ministry of Culture, 2022. https://saudipavilion.org/content/uploads/2023/03/The-Teaching-Tree-Muhannad-Shono-Exhibition-Catalogue.pdf
- ^ Nysten, Anastasia, ed. 2024. Being Muhannad Shono. Selections, December 25, 2024. https://selectionsarts.com/being-muhannad-shono-introduction/
- ^ Punj, Rajesh (2023-09-01). "From the Imagined World: A Conversation with Muhannad Shono". Sculpture. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ a b "Desert X | Muhannad Shono". desertx.org (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Diriyah Biennale Foundation - Biennales". DIRIYAH BIENNALE FOUNDATION. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Culture Ministry Honors Winners of '2nd National Cultural Awards 2022' – Arabian Records (1st post : Eid Al Fitr – 01st Shawwal 1439 (AH) / 15th June 2018 ) / (BETA testing – Research – starting April 2020 till date, on-going)". 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Saudi Artists Receive French Order of Arts and Letters at Knight Rank". spa.gov.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Letters in light (Lines we write) 2023". Muhannad Shono. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhannad Shono – After the Fall, 2022". Biennale de Lyon. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ S.L, Factum Arte. "Factum Arte :: On Losing Meaning". www.factum-arte.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "BIENALSUR". bienalsur.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Highlights from 'The Silence is Still Talking,' showing at Jeddah's Athr Gallery". Arab News. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhannad Shono | 35.1655 °N , 45.9896 °E , From the I'm Sorry from Above series | 2016 | Athr Gallery". staging.athrart.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Desert X | Desert X 2025 Artist Announced". desertx.org (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhannad Shono | THE FOREST FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS OKAYAMA". forestartfest-okayama.jp. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ Freire, Quintino Gomes (2024-11-08). ""Iluminações Poéticas: Arte do Reino Saudita" estreia no Paço Imperial com obras contemporâneas de artistas sauditas - Diário do Rio de Janeiro" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Exhibition 〉 Artwork l Sea Art Festival 2023". www.saf2023.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ Team, Arte Lusso (2023-09-12). "New Louvre Abu Dhabi Exhibition "Letters of Light" Opens to the Public". Arte & Lusso. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "I see you brightest in the dark". 2022. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Art fair: A Song Of Silence: Muhannad Shono, Parcours Art Basel". ATHR Gallery. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Six artists visually transform AlUla oasis for first art residency". Arab News. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ ""I Love You, Urgently" 21,39 Jeddah Arts / 7th Edition" |". Flash Art. 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhannad Shono". Galleria d’Arte Moderna Torino. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Spiritual & Digital". Kunstverein Wolfsburg (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "In the Open or in Stealth | Exhibition | MACBA". MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Mohamed AbdelRasoul | v1.1 | 2018 | Athr Gallery". staging.athrart.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Artists-in-labs: A melding of art and science". www.eawag.ch. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ Welt, Haus der Kulturen der (2022-06-16). "After the Wildly Improbable". HKW. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhammad Shono: The Fifth Sun and Al Mars". Tribe Photo Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Muhannad Shono - Biography". ATHR Gallery. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "The Silent Press". Centre Pompidou (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "A Forgotten Place". UAP. Retrieved 2025-02-26.