Abu Dhabi’s Bassam Freiha Art Foundation launches its Autumn 2025 season with ‘Nja Mahdaoui: The Choreographer of Letters’—a landmark retrospective celebrating one of the Arab world’s most influential modern artists.
Nja Mahdaoui, Untitled – Calligrams on vellum 2, 2011. Indian ink and acrylic on vellum, 85 x 85cm. Courtesy of the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation.
The Bassam Freiha Art Foundation (BFAF) opens its new season on 24 October 2025 with an ambitious programme of exhibitions led by a major retrospective of Tunisian artist Nja Mahdaoui. Titled ‘The Choreographer of Letters’, the exhibition runs until 25 January 2026 at the Foundation’s main gallery on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.
Co-curated by Dr Michaela Watrelot, Head Curator and Director of Exhibitions at BFAF, and Molka Mahdaoui, the artist’s daughter, the exhibition surveys more than six decades of Mahdaoui’s pioneering practice. Featuring nearly 30 works spanning painting, sculpture, and printmaking, it explores how Mahdaoui transformed Arabic calligraphy into a contemporary visual and abstract art form.
Highlights include a vivid early painting from the Concretion series (1971), where red, green, and blue swirls of lacquered oil frame Mahdaoui’s signature calligraphic gestures, and Untitled three from the Azimuth series (2012), a large-scale mixed-media work of intersecting diagonals and circular motifs that orchestrate rhythm across the surface.
Described by Dr Watrelot as an “internationally renowned choreographer of letters,” Mahdaoui is celebrated for liberating the Arabic letter from linguistic boundaries and revealing its expressive potential. “It is an honour to bring his retrospective to Saadiyat Island to celebrate his artistic legacy and give audiences access to this important collection from the Nja Mahdaoui Foundation,” said Watrelot.
Molka Mahdaoui added, “The Nja Mahdaoui Foundation is truly honoured to collaborate with the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on an exhibition celebrating both Mahdaoui’s remarkable 60-year artistic journey and his long-standing connection with the UAE.” The retrospective coincides with the launch of Mahdaoui’s first catalogue raisonné, to be published by Rizzoli — a milestone for Tunisian modern art.
Season Highlights
Running alongside Mahdaoui’s retrospective is ‘Constructing the Orient: Fragments of a Western Dream’ (24 October 2025 – 31 May 2026), an exhibition of Orientalist paintings from the private collection of H.E. Bassam Said Freiha and the Ary Jan Gallery. Works by 19th-century artists such as Jean-Léon Gérôme explore how Western painters constructed the image of the “Orient” through recurring archetypes and imagined spaces, prompting viewers to consider how these depictions still shape perception today.
In the Annex Gallery, ‘Nat Bowen: Chromology’ (7–26 October 2025) offers a contemplative study of colour psychology through Bowen’s signature resin paintings. Her luminous, abstract fields transform colour into a language of emotion and calm, inviting viewers into an immersive sensory experience.
The Foundation also hosts the ‘Art Circle Award: Story of a Dot’ (3–12 November 2025), inspired by Bauhaus and Arab modernism, showcasing works by regional artists exploring the symbolic and structural potential of the dot.
Completing the season, ‘Al Burda Exhibition – The Shape of Meaning’ (18 November 2025 – 25 January 2026) engages directly with Mahdaoui’s legacy. Presenting works from the UAE Ministry of Culture’s Al Burda collection (2008–2023), the exhibition explores the artistic and spiritual dimensions of the written word, bridging calligraphy’s past and its contemporary reinvention.
About the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation
Located in the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation is the region’s first and only private art foundation. Founded by philanthropist and collector H.E. Bassam Said Freiha, BFAF provides a platform for local and international artists, hosting free exhibitions alongside a robust programme of public talks, workshops, and educational initiatives.
In 2025, the Foundation expanded its offerings with a new multi-functional community space dedicated to creative collaboration, reinforcing its commitment to cultural exchange and art education.
For more information, visit bfaf.ae. ‘Nja Mahdaoui: The Choreographer of Letters’ runs from 24 October 2025 to 25 January 2026 at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.
