Zayn Qahtani (b.1997) is a Bahraini artist working in London. Working across drawing, painting and sculpture, Zayn's body of work is a diligent effort at archiving a personal, synesthetic archaeological practise. Works feel discovered rather than created, alluding to alife beyond the maker. This becomes apparent in Zayn's use of materiality: papers crafted from Bahraini date palm trees, bioplastics made from sugarcane, and pigments borne from plants, crystals, metals and earth all intermingle to form animistic objects of encrypted divination and illusory storytelling. Zayn has graduated with an MA in Sculpture at The Royal College of Art (UK). She has completed The Drawing Intensive at The Royal Drawing School (UK) and holds a BA Fashion Design from The Royal University for Women (BH).
Solo exhibitions include (Upcoming) Salon, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL, US (2025); Diving the Darkness, Tube Culture Hall, Milan, Italy (2025); Angels In Purgatory, VITRINE, London, UK (2023)
Group exhibitions include Medium Rare, Berntson Bhattacharjee, London, UK (2025); CONDO London, Union Pacific, London, UK (2025); All About Eve, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2025); Sixth Sense, Standpoint Gallery, London (2024); NEWNOW pt.2, Guts Gallery, London, UK (2024); Unannounced: The Other Voices of Silence, LAMPO Milano, Italy (2023); Hall of Mirrors, PLOPResidency, London, UK (2023); Contested Bodies, Leeds University Library Galleries, Leeds, UK (2023); When The Heart of A Pig Has Hardened, Dice It Small, KIRKI, Tinos, Greece (2023); Art Athina, Arusha Gallery, Athens, Greece (2023); Edinburgh Arts Festival, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (2023); Hawthorn & The Feast of Julian, Arusha Gallery, New York City, USA (2023); MENART Fair, Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium (2023); I Felt That (curated by Josephine May Bailey), The Tub, London, UK (2022); Serendipity, HUNNA x MIA Art Collection, Dubai, UAE (2022); Chorus, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2022); She Curates x Clover Mill, Wilder Gallery, London, UK (2021).
Highlights and Collections
Qahtani's work is held in private and public collections internationally including GRLPWR Collection by Marcelle Joseph, Bunker Artspace Museum, Florida, USA, Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon, Soho House Art Collection, London & Oxfordshire, UK, The Ned Art Collection, Doha, Qatar.