Bio
Abdulmohsen Albinali is a multimedia artist and filmmaker. Born in Saudi Arabia, he grew up in an artistic household and began exploring art from a young age. His professional pursuit of art began in 2008 when he moved to the U.K. In 2013, Albinali relocated to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where he became involved with several art institutions, including Tashkeel art-hub and the Emirates Fine Arts Society, while also attending classes at the Sharjah Art College. He later enrolled at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, earning a BFA in 2018.
During his time in the U.S., he was active in the local art community. Upon graduating in 2018, he returned to Saudi Arabia and presented his first solo show in Khobar. In 2020, he was selected for residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and the Albalad Residency. In 2021, he joined the first cycle of the Masaha Residency at the Misk Art Institute in Riyadh. In 2025, he completed residencies at NEOM, Saudi Arabia, and TBA21 – Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, Spain.
Albinali’s work has been featured in exhibitions at the Misk Art Institute, Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, the NARS Foundation in New York, and the Berlin Art Institute. He has also held solo exhibitions at Ab-Anbar Gallery in London and CapKuwait in Kuwait. His films have been nominated for Best Short Animation at the Saudi Film Festival and the Oregon Short Film Festival. In 2024, his second film was an official selection at the Red Sea Film Festival.
Between 2021 and 2023, Albinali pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Slade School of Art, University College London (UCL), graduating with distinction. In 2022, he received the Misk Art Grant, followed by the Gilbert Bayes Charitable Trust Grant in 2023.
Currently based in AlUla, Albinali continues to develop his artistic practice while fostering the local creative community. He is the founder of The N.E.S.T. (New Experimental Salon for Travelers), AlUla’s only independent art space. Operating as a residential gallery and an artist-run salon, The N.E.S.T. invites creatives from diverse mediums and backgrounds to engage in experimental programming and exhibitions.
STATEMENT
Coming from a multi-disciplinary background, I work in several different media, producing installation and sculptural works. My practice involves experimentation with ceramics, tiles, metal, taxidermy, plants, hives, stop-motion animation, miniature landscaping, and found objects through sculpting, printmaking, collage, painting, video, and interactive media.
My work strikes an aesthetic balance between chaos and order, as well as blurring and amalgamating the lines between the artificial and organic. Objects are merged, assembled, or made with materials that serve and relate to the narratives conveyed through my artwork. My aesthetic stems from research in arts and anthropology. I explore a variety of different subject matter connected to folklore, history, archeology, and gardening through a variety of conceptual frameworks driven by an inherent fascination with the natural world.
The resulting work investigates the correlations between the collective perception of nature and our place within it. Through the use of myth as a reference point to examine the human capacity to experience nature, my works incorporate natural elements such as landscapes, ecosystems, and biodiversity.