Mona Al-Qanai

The Body Keeps Track

Contemporary Artist. Visual Anthropologist

About

Mona Al-Qanai is a contemporary artist based in the GCC.

Her work begins with observation and experience, exploring people, relationships, emotion, and the traces that experiences leave behind. Working across drawing, painting, photography, film, installation, and sound, she creates works that invite the viewer to look closer and discover the story beneath the surface.

Selected Work

A selection of works, each carrying a story of its own.

Letting Go
2023
Print on paper

Reply
2006
White Ink on paper

Black
2005–2006
Black ink on paper

Machintosh
2008
Oil Pastel on paper

Every Piece Carries A Story


  • Mona Al-Qanai - Painting

    Exploring the quiet stories woven into everyday life shapes who we are

  • Mona Al-Qanai - Painting

    Merging in research with intuition, transforming personal and collective histories into visual form.

  • Mona Al-Qanai- Painting

    Each piece is built from observation, emotion, and cultural resonance, inviting the viewer into a conversation with their own memories.

  • Mona Al-Qanai - Drawing

    My work lives at the intersection of art and cultural storytelling, honoring identity while reimagining it for modern spaces.

 

Words About the Work

“Her Collection Bears Spontaneity Tinged With Philosophical Expressions.”   

Gulfweekly Newspaper - Journalist

 

“She Can Convey Such Movement And Even Emotion With Such Clear Sparsity, Which Is A Miracle Even To The Most Trained Eye.”  

 Hannah Lee Jones - Journalist 

 

“Art Is Forever Fine, Beautiful, And Aesthetic, Especially When Crafted Meaningfully With An Aim And A Sense Of Objectivity.”

Nancy Oteifa - Journalist 

Let’s Connect

For exhibitions, commissions, collaborations, and enquiries.