Zayn Qahtani Bahraini, b. 1997

Biography

Zayn Qahtani (b.1997, Bahrain) is a London-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice merges archetypal figuration with alchemical material processes.

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).

Working across drawing, painting, and sculpture, Qahtani constructs encrypted relics for the present age – sculptural sanctuaries that hold both ancestral memory and speculative future. Rooted in grief, ritual and transformation, her works function as talismanic portals where the ancient and the futuristic, the personal and the universal, converge.

Her practice is defined by a radical approach to materiality: papers are pulped from Bahraini date palms, bioplastics derived from plants, and pigments are borne of metals, crystals and earth matter. Through a process of transmutation, Qahtani stages a dialogue between tradition and innovation to form animistic relics that feel simultaneously primordial and visionary. Each work stands as both intimate offering and universal archetype, inviting the viewer to enter a world where matter transforms into myth.

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); 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).

Art fairs include MENART Fair, Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium (2023); Abu Dhabi Art Fair, UAE (2024); Abu Dhabi Art Fair, UAE (2025)

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.

Zayn Qahtani, CV, 2025

Works