Repetition is used as a form of attention. Layer by layer, marks accumulate, transform and create structures that can be read as both intimate and expansive.
ABDA FAYYAZ · CONTEMPORARY ART · VISUAL RESEARCH · UAE
Studio Practice
Philosophy & Research
Through layered tactile surfaces and rigorous research, Abda Fayyaz explores the intersection of traditional aesthetic philosophies and modern minimalism. Each collection reflects an intricate study of light, natural pigments, and structural abstraction.
THE SEARCH WITHIN
A VISUAL LANGUAGE OF CONNECTION.
Recurring forms and gestures move between the intimate and the universal — from the individual self to nature, time and the wider cosmos.
RESEARCH SERIES
FOUR LINES OF ENQUIRY.
Each series develops a different aspect of an ongoing inquiry into time, transformation and our relationship with a larger whole.
01 · RESEARCH SERIES
The Origin
02 · RESEARCH SERIES
Layers of Time
03 · RESEARCH SERIES
The Search Within
04 · RESEARCH SERIES
Patterns of Life & Time
ALSO FROM THE STUDIO
BEHIND THE SCENES
THE WORK BEFORE THE WORK.
A more intimate layer of the practice — materials, handling, repetition, framing, installation and the quiet decisions that sit behind a finished piece.
HANDS AT WORK
CALLIGRAPHY IN PROGRESS
SETTING THE SCENE
DETAIL IN THE MAKING
IN THE STUDIO
EXPLORING BRIGHTER SHADES
Foundation
We are all connected. We are all one.
This proposition lies at the centre of Abda Fayyaz’s practice. Drawing on patterns in nature, inherited traditions and the symbolic possibilities of Arabic script, her work approaches belonging as a relationship between the inner self and the world around it. Repetition gives this inquiry a visual rhythm: individual marks gather into forms that suggest both difference and continuity.
ARTISTIC INQUIRY
The paintings consider the relationship between what is visible and what remains beneath it — nature, time, memory, consciousness and the wider sense of connection that links individual experience with the world around us.
PRACTICE METHODOLOGY
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
“The artwork brings such a beautiful sense of calm and positive energy into the space. Every time I look at it, I discover something new.”
Sarah J.
EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS.
The exhibition history spans galleries, art fairs, institutional projects, digital presentations and curated art events across the UAE and beyond.
DIFC ART NIGHTS
Selected participation across multiple editions, including recent presentations at Gate Avenue, DIFC.
CAPSULE ARTS
March 2024 · Capsule Arts HQ, Al Quoz, Dubai.
INDIGO HOTEL DUBAI
December 2025 – January 2026 · Hotel Indigo, Downtown Dubai.
COMMISSIONS
BRING A MEANINGFUL WORK INTO
YOUR SPACE.
Bespoke commissions can be developed around scale, space, palette and the intended
emotional or conceptual relationship with the work.
RESEARCH
ESSAYS, CONVERSATIONS, READING & STUDIO NOTES.
A reading room around process, perception, repetition, nature, materiality and the unseen.
ESSAYS
Long-form reflections on abstraction, repetition, nature and the conditions of looking.
CONVERSATIONS
Dialogue around contemporary practice, process, meaning and the role of art in creating slower attention.
STUDIO NOTES
Fragments from an evolving practice: materials, marks, experiments and observations.
TIMELINE
SELECTED MILESTONES.
A concise view of the development of the practice and its public presence.
2026
LONDON, VENICE & BARCELONA — EXPANDING THE INQUIRY
Participation in the Women in Art Biennale London and an inaugural presentation in Venice at Palazzo Pisani-Revedin mark a significant expansion of Abda’s international exhibition history. The presentation of The Search Within – Red Edition at MEAM, Barcelona, continues this progression. Her research deepens around connection, purpose and belonging: how each form contributes to a larger whole, and how meaning persists through transformation.
2025
CONTINUITY & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Presentations at DIFC Art Nights and the Perspectives exhibition at Capital Club Dubai extend the practice’s engagement with UAE audiences. Sustained studio work develops the relationship between intricate individual marks and the larger structures they create, giving increasing depth to her exploration of individuality within shared existence.
2024
EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL REACH
Exhibiting in Paris marks a further step in Abda’s international presence, alongside continued presentations in the UAE. Her studio practice deepens through ongoing experimentation with colour, repetition and calligraphic abstraction.
2022-2023
COLLECTION RECOGNITION & REGIONAL VISIBILITY
A period of sustained experimentation, drawing and development of the visual language.
2021
DEVELOPING SUSTAINED BODIES OF WORK
Patterns of Life and Time and The Search Within become sustained areas of exploration. Nature’s recurring structures, repetition and Arabic calligraphic forms provide ways to investigate the relationship between inner experience and the wider world. These inquiries continue to develop across subsequent collections.
2018
REFINING THE VISUAL LANGUAGE
A sustained period of drawing and experimentation develops the practice’s use of layered marks, repetition and abstraction. Close observation of natural forms becomes increasingly central to an artistic language concerned with the relationships beneath visible appearances.
2014
GIVING FORM TO AN ARTISTIC VISION
Abda begins to articulate a personal artistic vision rooted in the belief that nothing exists in isolation. Drawing, painting and calligraphic exploration give form to questions about our place in the world and the relationships that connect us.
2010-2012
FOUNDATIONS OF A DISCIPLINED PRACTICE
An artistic inclination first recognised at the age of four begins to take shape as a sustained studio practice between 2010 and 2012. Experimentation with drawing, painting and calligraphic expression establishes both a working discipline and the foundations of Abda’s continuing inquiry into connection and the purpose inherent in every form.
IN the Press
