Alia Ahmad Joins White Cube

Saudi Arabian painter Alia Ahmad has joined White Cube, the blue-chip gallery announced last week. This follows her first European solo exhibition at their Paris location just six months ago.

The Royal College of Art graduate will debut two new paintings at White Cube’s booths during Frieze London and Art Basel Paris, with a solo exhibition opening at White Cube Mason’s Yard space in London in February 2025.

Ahmad’s work, known for its restless energy and heightened colours, draws heavily on her memories and observations of her native Riyadh. Her paintings, with brushwork that shifts between gestural and structural, explores themes of identity, tradition, and the rapidly changing world around her.

In an interview with Ocula earlier this year, Ahmad emphasised the significance of her home city in her work, saying: ‘One hundred years ago, Riyadh was a very different place to when I was born ... I try to draw parallels between the changes in landscape, the growth in culture, and how the Saudi Arabian capital holds a special place for me.’

Ahmad’s representation at White Cube is part of a wave of announcements leading up to Frieze London and Art Basel Paris. Other artists newly represented include Li Hei Di at Pace Gallery, Salman Toor at Thomas Dane Gallery, Katja Farin at Asia Art Center, and Sagarika Sundaram at Alison Jacques.