‘Maknana’: Arab artists explore new media in Riyadh

Rebecca Anne Proctor, Al Monitor, April 17, 2025
Iris Projects, one of the UAE’s newest cultural entities operating as both a cultural agency and fine art gallery, will present a solo exhibition by Saudi artist Abdullah Al Othman in Art Dubai’s Bawwaba section. The work is a new site-specific installation and a continuation of the artist’s Language & The City series, which was previously shown at the Lyon Biennale in 2022. Al Othman will then present his first-ever solo show in the UAE at Iris Projects Gallery in Abu Dhabi, the first commercial gallery in the MiZa cultural district. The show, titled “Structural Syntax,” is curated by Irina Stark and showcases Al Othman’s work over the past decade, highlighting his unique visual language grounded in Arabian urban landscapes, language and architecture to reflect on personal and collective impressions of the rapidly changing reality in his home country.