Shared ground: 9 artists to watch at Art Basel Qatar

With roots in the Middle East and North Africa, these artists offer urgent perspectives on life in a rapidly evolving region
Rahel Aima, Art Basel, 23 January 2026

Nadia Ayari 

Selma Feriani, London and Tunis

 

In Nadia Ayari’s distinctive paintings, spiky, space-age blooms based on Tunisian jasmines and lip-like leaves float against saturated 1980s hues. Only on closer inspection does the artist’s use of impasto become apparent – her meticulous and layered brushwork gives the canvases a tactile, velvety effect. Stylized flowers dangle from tubular geometric stems, suggesting landing craft approaching terminal velocity. Collapsing figuration and abstraction, these floral motifs evoke a survival drive that is necessarily multispecies and posthuman.

 
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