Born in 1977 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Lives and works in Riyadh.
From delicate ink on paper to complex large-scale technological installations, Muhannad Shono’s contemplative works chart new narratives and ways of thinking, while questioning prevailing cultural trends. Informed by his family’s history of migration, and interested in abandoned, uninhabited places, the artist explores notions of non-belonging through a practice structured by storytelling. With his post-minimal black, white and gray tonal ranges, he has resolved his work around the potential of the line to create, both as a reference to his drawing practice and as a conceptual framework.
Muhannad Shono represented Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2022. His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Athr, Jeddah, 2019; Ithra, Dammam, 2018; Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2018; and Athr, 2016. He has participated in group exhibitions at Desert X Al Ula, 2020; 21, 39 Jeddah Arts, 2019; Al Khuzam Historical Palace, Jeddah, 2019.
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