Mathaf Shines Light on Local Talent Wafa al-Hamad
On April 18, 2025, Qatar Museums unveiled three major exhibitions at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the country’s leading institution for modern and contemporary art. On view from April 19 to August 9, 2025, the exhibitions include a sweeping survey of Qatari art from the 1960s to the present, the first comprehensive retrospective of the late Qatari artist Wafa al-Hamad, and a groundbreaking international showcase of film and video art from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In this feature, we spotlight the work and legacy of Wafa al-Hamad.
The exhibitions at Mathaf were unveiled by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, in the attendance of Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, CEO, Qatar Museums, Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani, Mathaf President and Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Chairman of Media City Qatar, among other dignitaries.
These exhibitions offer a unique opportunity to explore the rich landscape of contemporary art from Qatar and beyond.
Wafa Al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination:
Wafa Al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination is the first solo museum exhibition dedicated to the late Qatari artist. Known for her experimentation with abstraction, Wafa’s paintings of figures and landscapes incorporate vibrant colours and organic shapes while paying homage to Qatari traditions.
Wafa is a pioneering Qatari artist, part of the first generation to shape the country’s contemporary art scene. Curated by Lina Ramadan, the exhibition is bathed in soft pastel hues, creating a gentle backdrop that accentuated the vibrant colours of Wafa’s canvases.
Lina’s curatorial approach went beyond charting the artist’s personal journey—she also explored the works and influence of Wafa’s peers, offering viewers a broader understanding of the art landscape during that formative period.
This exhibition highlights the artist’s evolving style over her 40-year career and her lasting legacy as an artist and educator. In addition to her paintings, the exhibition focuses on Wafa’s connection to other pioneering Arab women artists, including Madiha Omar, Nadira Mahmoud, Balqees Fakhro, Samia Halabyand Naziha Salem. Among the highlights are The Tower of Barzan and Optical Illusion, both from 1985, showcased alongside a range of other significant pieces.
Set in Local Time and Context
“Wafa’s work often features dream like optical illusions, meditative abstracts and coral-inspired shapes that reflect a hybrid interpretation of identity, blending local and global aesthetic sensibilities,” says Lina, who seems to have a particular passion towards the artists’ works.
Curator Lina Ramadan taking the guests through the works of the artist.
Spanning four decades, Sites of Imagination features 23 pieces from Mathaf’s permanent collections including watercolours, oil paintings, woodwork and archival materials alongside reproductions and loans from the family.
The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: the first celebrates Wafa’s pioneering work with optical illusions and multimedia; the second reflects her engagement with cultural memory and ancestral traditions; while the third situates her work within Arab modernism, drawing parallels between her contributions an those of contemporaries like Samia Halaby, Balqees Fakhro, and Thuraya al-Baqsami.
The artist’s practice offers a vibrant interpretation of Gulf modernism through abstract works, blending geometry and bold colours to express spirituality, and cultural memory.
In Atlal (The Tower of Barzan) (1985), she layers a traditional landscape with textured brushstrokes and bold purple hues, setting her vision apart from her peers. This work as well as Khidaa al-Basar (Optical Illusion) (1985) bridge physical and spiritual spaces, presenting transformative views of perception.
Another notable piece, which is our personal favourite is Henna Night (1992) which transforms a celebratory ritual into a semi-abstract scene, evoking community spirit through textured light and movement, with dreamlike figures recalling surrealism. The painting is both abstract yet real in its depiction of rituals and cultural significance with the henna lady adorning a battoulah set within a majlis like setting.
