Our Artists in Qatar
Jenny Holzer
SONG
Museum of Islamic Art
Comissioned by Art Basel, ‘SONG’ is a new site-responsive installation illuminating the façade of the Museum of Islamic Art. Featuring poetry by Mahmoud Darwish, the celebrated Palestinian poet whose lyrical voice shaped modern Arabic literature, and Nujoom Alghanem, the acclaimed Emirati poet and filmmaker known for her intimate and incisive writing, Holzer brings Arabic and English text into public space as illumination, rhythm, and interruption.
Jenny Holzer
For Qatar
Doha International Airport
‘For Qatar’ is a site-specific art installation by Jenny Holzer. The transparent screen displays scrolling texts as video animations with writing that spans continents and centuries.
Nairy Baghramian
PRIVILEGED POINTS
Museum of Islamic Art (MIA)
Installed against the dramatic backdrop of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), it consists of muted tones, rather than imposing color, sympathetically and symbiotically working with their environment. ‘Privileged Points’ (2017) consists of tubular sculptures, cast and covered in pastel lacquer, appearing delicately balanced as if resting on large drips of paint.
Rashid Johnson
VILLAGE OF THE SUN
Doha International Airport
Located in the park in front of the Doha International Airport, ‘Village of the Sun’ (2024) is Rashid Johnson’s largest and most ambitious public artwork. A cruciform composition of four freestanding 80ft walls, the surface of the installation is completely covered in multicolored ceramic tile, the first work in the region from the artist’s celebrated ‘Broken Men’ mosaic series.
Martin Creed
Work No. 1361 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT
Sheraton Grand Doha Hotel
Installed in 2018 outside Sheraton Grand Doha Hotel, the phrase ‘Everything is going to be alright’ has been used by the artist in a series of large-scale neon works since 1999 and draws on the comforting words Creed was offered by a friend.
Subodh Gupta
SPOONING
M7, Msheireb Cultural Forum
In ‘Spooning’ (2009), Subodh Gupta presents two gigantic stainless steel spoons stacked upon one another. The eye-catching work captures a deep sense of intimacy. Using this simple metaphor, Gupta elevates this domestic visual into the ultimate representation of balance and harmony.
Subodh Gupta
GANDHI’S THREE MONKEYS
Katara
Located in the midst of Katara, Doha’s bustling cultural village, ‘Gandhi’s Three Monkeys’ (2007 – 2008) by Subodh Gupta captures attention. Tackling the challenging themes of war and peace, the three-part sculpture consists of three heads—one in a gas mask, one a soldier and the other in a terrorist hood.
Eduardo Chillida
BUSCANDO LA LUZ IV (SEARCHING FOR LIGHT IV)
Qatar University
This monumental sculpture is the last among a series produced by Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida during his final creative period. Composed of three asymmetrical vertical steel plates linked together through a complex riveting system, the sculpture’s presence engulfs the area. Once inside the interior space of the work, its form appears to acquire movement, rising up in search of the light.
Louise Bourgeois
MAMAN
Qatar National Convention Centre
Louise Bourgeois’s ‘Maman’ stands at Qatar’s National Convention Centre. One of the most iconic works of the past century, the monumental spider is an ode to the artist’s mother, a tapestry weaver who passed away when the artist was just 20. Its duality—as both predator and protector, capable of destruction and creation—reflects the complexities of motherhood as Bourgeois experienced them.
Isa Genzken
ROSE III
M7, Atrium
Rose III is an eight-metre-high sculpture of a single long-stemmed rose in cast aluminum and galvanized steel, placed inside the atrium of M7. It is based on an actual rose picked by the artist, which was then scanned in 3D and reproduced on a monumental scale.