About
Hanan Bahamdan is a pioneer of contemporary Saudi art whose practice has evolved across Riyadh, London, Cairo, and Beirut. Born in Riyadh, she has spent her career exploring identity, belonging, healing, and the human connection to nature, while inspiring and championing a new generation of artists in Saudi Arabia and beyond. She now maintains her primary studio in Riyadh.
Largely self-taught, Bahamdan began exhibiting from her home in Riyadh in the 1990s, turning to self-portraiture to explore identity and marginalisation. Made in private, these early works challenged societal expectations while asserting the artist’s presence, establishing a practice grounded in self-discovery and the transformative potential of art.
In the early 2000s, Bahamdan studied under renowned Egyptian artist Mohammed Sabri in Cairo and at London’s Heatherley School of Art, deepening her engagement with portraiture and figurative painting. In 2007, Mannci became the first work by a Saudi artist to be auctioned at Sotheby’s.
Bahamdan's longstanding belief in art’s capacity to heal led, in 2020, to her certification as an art therapist - deepening an artistic practice concerned not only with seeing and being seen, but with the possibilities of connection and renewal.
Chronology
Selected moments from the artist’s practice and exhibition history.
1966 — PRESENT
1960s
1966
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Early life
Hanan Abdullah Bahamdan is born in Riyadh. From an early age, she draws inspiration from the people and images around her. In a later interview, she recalls having paper, pencils, chalk and pastels in her hands from childhood.
1990s
1991
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
First exhibition
Bahamdan presents her first exhibition in Riyadh, bringing her work before a wider public.
1996
Cairo, Egypt
Exhibition in Cairo
Bahamdan exhibits in Cairo, extending her artistic activity beyond Saudi Arabia. Her relationship with Egypt becomes an important part of her artistic development. She studies pastel painting with Egyptian artist Mohamed Sabry and continues to develop her interest in portraiture.
2000s
2001
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Atelier of Fine Arts
Bahamdan holds an exhibition at the Atelier of Fine Arts in Jeddah.
2005
Cairo, Egypt
Plastic Arts Gallery, Cairo Opera House
Bahamdan presents more than thirty paintings in an exhibition at the Plastic Arts Gallery at the Cairo Opera House.
2007
London, United Kingdom
Sotheby’s
Bahamdan becomes the first Saudi artist to have a work sold at Sotheby’s and the first female artist from the Kingdom to be offered at a Sotheby’s auction. Her portrait Mannci (The Forgotten), 2005, is included in Sotheby’s inaugural sale of Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art in London, selling for more than three times its high estimate.
2009
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Forgotten Faces
Bahamdan presents Forgotten Faces at Hewar Art Gallery in Riyadh. The exhibition brings together a substantial body of portraiture, focusing on faces and individuals encountered in everyday life.
2009
Publication
Art of Forgotten Faces
Art of Forgotten Faces is published in Arabic and English. The 92-page volume documents Bahamdan’s work, with particular emphasis on the portraits presented at Hewar Art Gallery that year.
2010s
2010
London, United Kingdom
Sotheby’s
Bahamdan’s Untitled, 2009, is sold at auction at Sotheby’s.
2020s
2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contemplation Effect — Hafez Gallery
Bahamdan participates in Contemplation Effect, the inaugural exhibition at Hafez Gallery’s new location in the JAX District.
2025
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Saba Najd — Hafez Gallery
Bahamdan participates in Saba Najd, an exhibition bringing together seven contemporary Saudi women artists at Hafez Gallery in the JAX District.
2026 — Present
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Continuing practice
Hanan Bahamdan continues her artistic practice, with portraiture remaining an important part of her body of work.
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