Talal Al Najjar Emirati-American, b. 1999
Talal Al Najjar is an artist from the Emirates, based between Los Angeles and Dubai.
Driven by researching, archiving, and distorting, his interdisciplinary practice recontextualises material culture, artefacts, and imagery, tinged with irony. Defamiliarisation and the uncanny prompt new anthropological and material questions in his work, utilising an absurdist lens. He produces sculpture, video, sound, CGI animation, painting, and installation, in addition to writing and curation. Primary concerns include ideas around simulation, postproduction, poor images, counter-futurisms, and the contention of postmodern conditions. He received his MFA from ArtCenter College of Design (2023), and his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2021). He has exhibited work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Recent exhibitions include: Art Dubai, Dubai (2024); The Space, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai (2024, 2023); NYUAD, Abu Dhabi (2023); The Box Gallery, Los Angeles (2023); After the End, NADA, Online (2023); ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena (2023, 2022, 2021); Yiwei Gallery, Los Angeles (2022); Bayt AlMamzar, Dubai (2022); Al Fahidi, Dubai (2022); 3FTD, Los Angeles (2021); Sotheby’s, Dubai (2021); Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (2020); Jameel Arts Center, Dubai (2020), among others. He is a recipient of the ICD Brookfield Place Arts Residency (2023) and Dirwaza Creative Access Grant (2022).
EDUCATION
2023, Master of Fine Arts, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US
2021, Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US
SOLO & TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025, Mesh & Mayhem, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE; Broken Barrels (with Moza Almazrouei), curated by Salem AlSuwaidi, SWALIF x ATHR, Riyadh, KSA
2024, Petro-Ghareebo: NAUSEA, Tabari Artspace x Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2023, Symbiotic: Hyperreal (with Ziad Al Najjar), curated by Tala Nassar, NYU Abu Dhabi Project Space, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Petro-Ghareebo: NAUSEA, Graduate Thesis Exhibition, Cave Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US
2022, Petro-Ghareebo, Cave Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US L1MB-B0, Cave Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US L1MB_B0, B13 Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US, Virtual Ritual, Raymond Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US, CrasH! (with Brennan Stalford), Mike Kelley Foundation Graduate Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA, US
2021, Tittering, B13 Gallery, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, US, Cetacea, Appendix Projects, Online
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025, The Boys Are Alright, Bayt AlMamzar, Dubai, UAE
2025, Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Arts in the Arab World, Diriyah Art Futures, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2025, Înca:Presenting the Salam Art Collection, Miraz ArtSpace, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
2025, Tabari Artspace Group Show, Tabari Artspace x Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE (forthcoming)
2024, Trio Exhibition, Tabari Artspace x Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE (forthcoming)
2024, CHIAROSCURO, curated by Michele Lamy, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai, UAE
2023, Postmordial Soup, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai; The Deluge, Curated by Catherine Taft, The Box, Los Angeles, CA, US Swamped, Book Launch, Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles, CA, US; AftertheEnd, Curated by Catherine Taft, New Art Dealers Alliance, Online
2022, Liquify, Yiwei Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
Ybna Al3eid (Co-curator, with Salem AlSuwaidi), Bayt AlMamzar, Dubai, UAE
Fractured Existence, Al Fahidi, Dubai, UAE,
Cohort Show, Mike Kelley Foundation Graduate Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA, US
2021, MFA Group Show, The Goodan Family Graduate Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA, US
13 PAINTERS, 3FTD Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
Made in the Emirates: Connected, Collected, Engage 101, Sotheby’s, Dubai, UAE
Anthropopeia, Appendix Projects, Online
Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Galleries, Chicago, IL, US
2020, Playing Spaces, Engage 101, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE; ReassigningValues, Jameel Arts Centre / Dubai, UAE
FAIRS
2025, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
2025, Art Dubai, UAE
2019, Chicago Art Book Fair, Chicago, IL, US
2016, Sikka Art Fair, Al Fahidi, Dubai, UAE
AWARDS, GRANTS & RESIDENCIES
2025, Dubai Culture Public Art Program
2024, Italy & United Arab Emirates:Digital Arts As A Vehicle For Accessibility To Cultural Heritage, Youth Exchange Residency, Rome, Italy
2023, ICD Brookfield Place Arts Residency, Dubai, UAE
2022, Recipient of The Dirwaza Microfund for Creative Access grant, for Ybna Al3eid
2021-2023, Graduate Art Scholarship, ArtCenter College of Design
2016-2021, Good Academic Standing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2016-2021, Full scholarship, Undergraduate, from the Ministry of Higher Education, UAE
2016-2021, Creative Honours Scholarship, Undergraduate, from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Dubai Collection, Dubai, UAE
The Mestelan Collection, Dubai, UAE
Salam Art Collection, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
MamarLab, Abu Dhabi, UAE
HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nayhan Collection, Abu Dhabi, UAE
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2025, Commissioned by MamarLab to write and publish an essay reflecting on the regional arteco-systems, Abu Dhabi
2024, Commissioned by Salem AlSuwaidi for poster design for his Public Art Manifesto, for his 421 Homebound Residency exhibition entitled NetworkCulture, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2020, commissioned by Daniel H. Rey, Jameel Arts Centre, for Excrescence, a 4 by 8 ft. sculpture, video, and sound installation, for the Youth Takeover: Reassigning Values exhibition, Dubai, UAE
2018, Commissioned to paint O-14 tower’s outdoor sculpture, with Ziad Al Najjar, Dubai, UAE
PUBLICATIONS
2023, Ybna Al3eid (Co-editor and writer, with Salem AlSuwaidi), Publication, SWALIF Publishing House, June
2023, Logged In, Artist book, Self-published & ArtCenter Graduate Art Press, April
2023, Swamped, Group artist book, ArtCenter Graduate Art Press, April
SELECTED PRESS & BIBLIOGRAPHY
2025, The Dubai Collection, On Creating - Talal Al Najjar, January 2025, Talal Al Najjar: Disrupting the Familiar by Way of Absurdism, Dazed
2025, NASO interviews: Talal Al Najjar, Naso Art Journal
2024, The National, The DNA of the City: What to Expect at Art Dubai 2025, December 2024
2024, Global Art Daily, My Existence, That Absurd Thing Opens at MamarLab in MiZa, Abu Dhabi, November 2024
2024, Level Shoes, Dubai’s Three Most Exciting Young Artists, October 2024
2024, Wallpaper Magazine, Michèle Lamy Explores Light and Darkness in Dubai, March 2024
2024, Artsy, Art Dubai Highlights the City’s Growing Appeal with Asian Collectors, March 2024
2024, The National, Emirati Artist Strives to Provoke Questions When Showcasing His Work, February 2024
2024, Art Dubai, Art Dubai Digital 2024: Behind the Scenes with Curators Auronda Scalera and Alfredo Cramerotti, February 2024
2024, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Channelling the Uncanny in Counter-Futurisms, February 2024
2023, Canvas Magazine, Stirring the Pot, November–December 2023 (Print)
2023, Collecteurs, Collecteurs Selects: Exhibitions to See in Dubai, November 2023
2023, Fast Company Middle East, AI Is Changing Art Creation in the Middle East, October 2023
2023, Gulf News, Postmordial Soup Exhibition: A Fusion of Art, Culture, and Human Experience, October 2023
2023, Global Art Daily, Postmordial Soup Brings Together Ziad Al Najjar, Talal Al Najjar and Miramar Al Nayyar, October 2023
2023, Tabari Artspace, The Voice: Talal Al Najjar, October 2023
2023, Khamsa, Creative Talks: Discussion with the Artists Behind Postmordial Soup, October 2023
2023, Caravel Magazine, Postmordial Soup Exhibition Opens at ICD Brookfield Place, October 2023
2023, Arte & Lusso, ICD Brookfield Place Presents a Group Exhibition Featuring Talal Al Najjar, Ziad Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar, October 2023
2023, Arte & Lusso, Postmordial Soup: Talal Al Najjar, Ziad Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar, September 2023
2023, Time Out, NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery Unveils New Showcase with Emirati Artists, June 2023
2023, Yalla Abu Dhabi, Explore the Dualities of Tradition and Modernity at This NYUAD Exhibition, June 2023
2023, Emirates News Agency, Emirati Artists Talal and Ziad Al Najjar Illuminate Hyperreality in Symbiotic Exhibition at NYUAD, May 2023
2023, Emirates 24/7, Emirati Artists Showcase Balance Between Heritage and Modernity in The Project Space’s Final Exhibition for the Season, May 2023
2023, Al Khaleej, Symbiotic: Hyperreal, an Exhibition by Two Emirati Brothers, May 2023
2023, Hyperallergic, An Eclectic Bunch at ArtCenter’s Open Studios, April 2023
2022, Artforum, Critic’s Pick: Dubai – Ybna Al3eid, October 2022
2022, The Culturist, New Season of Exhibitions in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, September 2022
2022, Gulf News, Take a Tour of Dubai’s Bayt Al Mamzar, September
2022, Dubai Culture, Immersive VR and Metaverse Journeys and Inspiring GCC Artworks in Sikka 2022, March 2022
2021, Appendix Projects, Anthropopeia: Talal Al Najjar, March 2021
2021, The Art Newspaper, What to Do When the Tourists Leave Town? How the UAE Art Scene Has Innovated During the Pandemic, February 2021
2021, VICE Arabia, 101: A New Platform to Support Emerging Artists in the UAE, January 2021
2020, Art Curator Grid, WAW – We Are Wondering, December 2020
2020, Global Art Daily, 101 Strikes Again with Second Sale at Alserkal Avenue, November 2020
2020, The National, 101 Presents New Ways of Buying and Experiencing Art: Flashlight Viewings and Late-Night Workshops, November 2020
2020, 101, Playing Spaces: Talal Al Najjar, November 2020
2020, Global Art Daily, GAD Talk Series #3: When the Youth Takes Over - Reflecting on the Jameel Arts Centre 2020 Youth Takeover, November 2020
2020, VICE Arabia, Youth Curating Youth: Encountering the UAE’s New Artists at the Jameel Youth Takeover, November 2020
2020, Verticles, The Youth Takeover: Talal Al Najjar, November 2020
2020, ABC, El Diálogo Cultural de Daniel H. Rey, November 2020
2020, Jameel Arts Centre, The Youth Takeover 2020, October 2020
2020, The National, Nine-01: Young Emirati Artists Transform Mall Space into Art Studio, August 2020
2020, Michael Rakowitz, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist
2016, Arabian Business, Eight of the Best Artworks at Sikka
TALKS & LECTURES
2025, Merin Pavilion Symposium, Realms in Flux, SIKKA 2025, co-speaker with Rahel Aima on the panel Futurity & Anxiety: (Re-evaluating) Contemporary Art in the Gulf, hosted by Mabnai and SWALIF, Dubai, UAE
2025, Istituto Marangoni, visiting artist and lecturer, Dubai, UAE
2024, MamarLab, moderator of the panel Nausea: Artists on Our Era’s Anxieties, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2024, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, speaker with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Channelling the Uncanny in Counter-Futurisms, with Ayman Zedani, Ahaad Alamoudi, and Kristin Smith Diwan, Abu Dhabi, UAE, March 2024
2023, ICD Brookfield Place, panellist and speaker, Navigating the Art World: There’s No Such Thing, hosted in collaboration with Tabari Artspace, moderated by Gaith Abdulla and Maliha Al Tabari, Dubai, UAE
2022, Art Center College of Design, introduction to public lecture Kahlil Robert Irving in Conversation with Jan Tumlir, Fall 2022, Pasadena, CA, US
2022, Ybna Al3eid, co-host of Ybna El Naqd, a critique session for the Ybna Al3eid exhibition, in collaboration with Salem Al Suwaidi and SWALIF Collective, Bayt Al Mamzar, Dubai, UAE
2020, Zayed University, visiting artist and lecturer (online), Dubai, UAE
2020, Zayed University, visiting artist and lecturer (online), Abu Dhabi, UAE
2020, Global Art Daily, guest speaker, Reflecting on the Jameel Arts Centre 2020 Youth Takeover, online (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo)
SPECIAL PROJECTS
2025, Dubai Collection Experiential Press Dinner, Art Dubai × Dubai Collection, experiential artist, Dubai, UAE
2025, Suhoorat Bayt Al Mamzar, Dubai Collection, experiential programming in collaboration with Ayesha Erkin, Dubai, UAE
2022, Art Center College of Design, teaching assistant to core faculty Shahryar Nashat, A Class on Repetition, a Class on Repetition, Fall 2022, Pasadena, CA, US
2020, Engage 101, workshop host, Introduction to Sculpture, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
2020, Nine-01, co-founder of pop-up art studio and exhibition space, Dubai, UAE
2020, Michael Rakowitz Studio, assistant sculptor and intern for The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist series, Chicago, IL, US
2015, Dubai Walls × Ron English, assistant painter on large-scale mural commission for City Walk, initiated by Dubai Walls and Meraas Holdings, Dubai, UAE
-
Mesh and Mayhem a Solo Exhibition by Talal Al Najjar
Tabari Artspace 27 September - 24 October 2025Talal Al Najjar’s MESH & MAYHEM unravels a terrain where digital architectures and Gulf memory entwine, forming a fabric stretched thin across speculative futures and fractured realities. The exhibition confronts...Explore -
Postmordial Soup | ICD Brookfield Place
Talal Al Najjar, Ziad Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar 5 - 20 October 20235 October - 20 October, 2023 ICD Brookfield Place and Tabari Artspace present a group exhibition featuring Talal Al Najjar, Ziad Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar, entitled Postmordial Soup....Explore
