B. 1989
As if harnessing the subconscious, Maitha Abdalla’s work oscillates between the diaphanous, vibrant and surreal, and is always marked by an atmosphere of reminiscence and nostalgia. Often evolved into series articulating strong cultural narratives, her paintings and mixed media works are assemblages of memory, travel and human interactions. Informed by exchanges and experiences, her socially driven commentaries on the human condition reveal astute, intuitive observations on the world around her, in a narrative form. A particularly influential encounter was with the children of an orphanage, where Maitha taught English and art. The motifs of childhood began to permeate her work after this time, becoming an eloquent vernacular in which she further explores the difference between the imaginary and the real; mapping the liminal space between these interconnected worlds, she plays out many questions of social and cultural identity.
EDUCATION
2015, Zayed University, Bachelor of Visual Arts, Abu Dhabi, UAE
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022, INT. The Body - Sunrise, Cromwell Place, London
2021, Scars by Daylight, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2019, Hollowed, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022, Beyond Emerging Artists, Palazzo Franchetti, Venice, Italy
2021, Beyond Emerging Artists, Abu Dhabi Art
2020, Boudoir, Video performance, group exhibition, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
2020, Boudoir, Video performance, group exhibition, PIworks Gallery, London, England
2019, Cuadro Gallery group exhibition Dubai International Financial district, Dubai, UAE
2019, Co-Curated Bait Juma Group Exhibition, BAIT15 Abu Dhabi, UAE
2019, BAIT15 Art Dubai UAE NOW, Dubai, UAE
2019, Dynasty, Group exhibition, F6 Gallery, Al Serkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
2018, The alumni show, group exhibition, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2016, Noah’s Ark, Co-Curating The 34th annual exhibition, Fine Arts Society, Sharjah, UAE
2016, In Her Dreams, Fine Arts Society, The 34th annual exhibition, Sharjah, UAE
2016, We Can’t See, Abu Dhabi Art, group exhibition, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2015, The Dance of Life, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2015, The Dance of Life, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES / AWARDS
2022, Cité Internationale Des Arts Artist residency, Paris (forthcoming)
2022, An Effort, SoHo, London
2020, In The Round, Abu Dhabi Art
2020, In The Studio, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
2019, ADMAF Visual Arts Residency Programme, Vaduz, Liechtenstein and Vienna, Austria
2016-2017, SEAF-Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation + Rhode Island School of Design Abu Dhabi, Providence & New York
2015, Sheikha Manal Arts Awards, Dubai, UAE
SELECTED PRESS
2022, Creating an Artistic Language That FLows Between Fantasy and Reality, WOMENA
2022, Selections, Beyond: Emerging Artists At La Biennale Di Venezia
2021, Culured, Abu Dhabi's Cultural DNA Is Evolving—Emerging Artists' Work Proves It
2021, Ocula, Maitha Abdalla's Storytelling Invokes Lynch, Dzama, and Emirati Folklore
2020, Financial Times, The art-buying habits of New Yorkers revealed
2020, Financial Times, UAE Becomes an Incubator to Help Careers of Local Emerging Artists
2018, Abu Dhabi's secret, BBC Travel